Landing Feet First
by ErisandDysnomia
Summary: After the CDC, the new plan was Ft. Benning...now the only problem was actually getting there. Daryl/OC, and hey, maybe some love for Glenn! Can be read as a compainon to Blame It On Bad Luck or on it's own :D Enjoy! Rating for Daryl the Diva!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note!: So, here you go :] Since it's my birthday today, I wanted to celebrate! (17 bitches! What?) but sadly, since I can't give y'all a tray of cupcakes, I can give you this! It's Cali, Camp Clueless and a one hell of a road trip! **

**You get this spin-off so quickly, because the plot bunny that was BIOBL, and the plot bunny that was this, got together, and boom. All of a sudden I went from two bunnies to like freaking 400 little ideas hopping around my head. **

**Also, my English teacher told me that my 3rd person POV needed work. As much as a blow to my poor ego this was, I'll be taking her advice. So, for practice, this side story will be in 3rd person, but once season two starts up, I'll be back to doing the lovely 1st person. So sorry if that irks y'all, but I need the practice!**

**But first, just incase I get some readers that haven't read Blame It On Bad Luck, you might need this! :]**

**Cali's dictionary:**

**Best Friend Killer: Daryl Dixon. (Because he killed Dean, Cali's squirrel best friend)**

**Camp Clueless: Cali's nickname for the group of dwindling survivors. **

**Deputy Do Gooder- Shane Walsh. **

**Lawman: Rick Grimes**

**Peacekeeper: Dale**

**Pride of Atlanta: Merle Dixon**

**Nia: The nickname for Cali that only Daryl uses, because of the -Nia on the end of California, and insomnia, which she has.**

**Ninja Porno Pizza Boy: Glenn…who doesn't have a last name?**

**Walker Housewives: The woman of camp, and the way that each of their lives seem to be part of a drama show that Cali sees in her head. Cali's insane.**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own the Walking Dead…but I did get the first season for my birthday :D can you say Daily Dose of Daryl? (Can you say it three times fast?)**

Chapter One!: Faceless and Scarred, We Don't Know Where We're Going, We Forgot Where We Came From.

The way California saw it, there were three levels of bad dreams. The first level consisted of those mini-nightmares that you had in the very beginning stages of sleep, where your body would randomly spasm, and not give you a solid reason why. Maybe you were falling? Who knew?

The second level was those annoying little fuckers, where you had the dream, and it was usually terrifying enough to jolt you awake. Way out of the sweet, elusive bliss of sleep only to wake up to find that you can't remember, for the life of you, what the nightmare was about. It was enough, however, to prevent you from sleeping for the rest of the night because you can't remember what scared you that bad.

And finally, there was the third level. The worst nightmares. The ones that you could remember. The images and fears that leak from the darkest crevices of your subconscious, to the front of your mind, when you can't will them away. Those demons, that you tried damn hard to subdue, were suddenly released from their containment, and free to torture you once more. Those were the dreams that caused you to wake up kicking and screaming, with tears down your face.

That's where she was now.

"Awh fuck! Goddamn it Nia!" Daryl growled, successfully pulling Nia from her Walker filled mental trauma. She shot up in her seat, starting at the hunter confused.

"The hell you yelling about?"

"Well, when sum dumb bitch rams her fuckin' foot inta my damn crotch, I don't normally let her keep doin' it!" He answered, as he pushed her feet out of his lap, forcing her to sit up in the piece of shit car. Cali groaned, and glanced at the window. Her black hair was curled into it's everyday knot at the base of her neck, and the make up she had actually had the time to take her time with that morning was smeared, and only made her look more tired.

"I gave you a shot to the nuts?"

"Yup. Almost ran me off the fuckin' road."

"Well, I'm sure Lawman would've found that hilarious."

"Why th' fuck ya start freakin' out anyways?"

"Bad fucking dream."

"What about?"

"Walkers, the CDC countdown, Wade, my parents-"

"-Fuckin' the chink." The hunter spat the words. Cali winced and returned to her window. She had known she wasn't done answering for that little…indiscretion. But, in her defense (and she did have one), in her drunken stupor, she had thrown herself at Daryl first, but he didn't want it. So, she fucked the first person who would. Once again, in her defense, she and Glenn had been 'drunk as fuck and about to pass out' to quote one of her favorite boy bands. She hadn't been in a…right…state of mind.

"Ever gonna let me live that down?" She ventured.

"I'll let ya know when it happens."

"Asshole."

"Whore."

Yeah, whoever said that their relationship was unhealthy, was probably right. But fuck if Cali was going to let Best Friend Killer go. She'd faced death one too many times to let trivial things like…sleeping with the guy you like's worst enemy…get in the way of what she wanted. And besides, when that damned clock had been ticking down, he'd forgiven her.

He was just being a dick, because if there was one thing that Daryl Dixon was good at, it was being a dick.

"So, where do we go now?" Cali broke the silence. She couldn't take it.

"Don' ask me, seems Grimes can't pull his head out of his ass long enough tuh even pick a place tuh stop."

"Do you think we'll be going to Ft. Benning?"

"Dun' have a clue." He answered, his face suddenly dark. Chewing on her lip, Cali placed her hand on Daryl's shoulder. He stiffened under her hand, but didn't move away.

"Are you okay?"

"Dun' know how I'm 'pposed to find Merle now. Tha' note Grimes left told him 'bout the CDC. But, how's he 'possed to know where tuh go now?" It was a rare admission to have Daryl answer that question directly, but seeing as Merle had kind of liked Cali (and by like, he used her to wash their clothes, took his verbal abuse, and she hadn't been afraid of him like she should've been) and Cali was worried about the Pride of Atlanta. There were only so many places that he could be.

"I…really wish I had an answer for you." She answered. And she did, there was nothing worse then the wondering aspect. Maybe they're alive? Maybe they're dead? The lack of knowing was the worst of everything that the end of the world had thrown at them.

The conversation was brought to a halt when the caravan that they had been traveling in signaled them to turn off road, into the parking lot of an old church. Daryl sighed and drove his car off, following the giant ass RV. Once the cars were stopped, the RV doors opened, and Lawman gestured everyone inside. After a quick rush, what was left of Camp Clueless packed themselves together like sardines into the RV. Rick surveyed the crowd with tired eyes.

"So. We need to discuss our next move."

"What we need, is to take a few minutes to breathe." Dale argued, still remaining peaceful. "We did just sort of take a mad dash out of a building set to explode."

Cali only halfheartedly listened as the men argued. There was someone missing, who was it? Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. "Where's Jacqui?" she asked, interrupting the man-bitch fight. The camp grew quiet.

"She decided to stay." T-Dog informed her. Cali's eyes grew wide, and her stomach rolled.

"She willingly stayed?"

"Yeah."

"Oh God." She rubbed her temples. How much death did a human being have to be exposed to before it became commonplace? Could you actually grow so used to the idea of the people you love dying, to the point where you stopped feeling sadness when you hear about it?

"We need to think about self preservation at this point." Shane spoke for the first time since the cars had stopped. "We need to go where we'll be safe. I say we re-evaluate the Ft. Benning idea."

"That's still a hundred miles away." Lori reminded him. "We don't have the gas to get there."

"So we'll continue to siphon gas along our way."

"On the main road?" Glenn asked from where he was seated by the window.

"Yeah. I was planning on using the highway. That a problem?" Shane's hands had made their way back down to his hips.

"Well…" Glenn trailed off, letting the visual do the talking for him. Camp Clueless flocked to the windows, with noses pressed to the glass.

There was an entire army of Walkers, groaning and contorting their way towards the city. Way to many to deal with.

"Fuckin' shit!" Daryl growled.

"We do not have enough fire power for all of them." T-Dog sighed.

"Where did they come from?" Cali asked, freezing up a little. She hadn't killed a Walker yet, and she was really hoping that it would never come to that. There was only so much she and her Baseball Bat of Death could do.

"They probably heard the explosion from the CDC, it was deafening." Dale shook his head. "It's attracted all of them. The highway would be hell to travel on if this is the case."

"Then what do we do?" Shane asked. "Wait it out here?"

"No." Rick shook his head. "We could go to Ft. Benning through the mountains. That way, we can check out Cali's theory at the same time. Maybe up there hasn't been hit as hard. If anything, the Walkers up there will be slower, it's colder up there."

"That would take even more gas, which we don't have."

"Then how do you plan on going through the Walkers?"

"We just blow right through them!"

"They'll still put up resistance Shane!"

"Girls!" Glenn cried, staring at the two officers. "You're both pretty, but I think that maybe we should focus on them!" he pointed back out the window, where some of the Walkers must have picked up their scent. A few stragglers were slowly making their way towards the caravan.

Who were all now conveniently trapped in Dale's RV.

"Oh shit!" Cali hissed. "What do we do?"

"Take them out?"

"With what? The guns would only attract more of them."

"Crossbow?"

"Whut? Y'all think I got magic arrows 'r some shit? I only got so many."

"I say we break into the church behind us!" Lori quickly informed the group. "We can barricade the door until they swarm disperses, and aren't churches always holding a canned food drive? There's food for us in there too."

"Not a bad idea." Dale admitted. The rest of the Camp just looked at each other.

All they could think about was what happened the last time they had let a Grimes lead them anywhere. Can you say mad scientist who was able to set the air on fire?

Shane let out a sigh, but picked his gun up from off the floor. "Let's get there now then y'all. We ain't got time to discuss anymore. We get the kids and their Mamas out first. Daryl, Glenn, I want the two of you to cover the back."

The hunter and the pizza boy exchanged a glance. There was fear in the dark eyes of the Asian, while in the blue eyes of the redneck, there was a challenge. If the chink fucked up once…he was dead.

"Got it." Glenn swallowed. Shane opened the door as quiet as he could. Then, quickly, Carl, Sophia, Lori and Carol ran towards the church. The rest of the camp filed out single file, towards the church door. There was a lock, but a few strategic twists of a bobby pin allowed them entry.

What would these men do without us? Cali had to smirk to herself as she walked into the dark building. It really was the Walker Housewives who insured the safety of camp. They sure as hell needed some more props. It was the least that these men could do! The rest of the camp rushed in, and the doors were closed once more. Some rope that looked like it had been used to rope off an area of the church was used to secure the doors. Once the door was taken care of, the camp turned to survey the new area.

The church was dark, save for the sunlight that poured through the stain glass windows that decorated the sanctuary area of the building, painting everything in shades of red, blue and green. The dusty smell was strangely comforting to Cali. Maybe it was because her old church back home had smelt like this, or maybe it was because she couldn't even begin to fathom being eaten alive in a church, but she felt safe in this building.

"Alright," Shane kept his voice low. Probably because he was a good Southern boy, and he knew not to yell in church. "We'll take one or two of us, and we'll go check the place out. I don't want no surprises in here. We'll also look for some food while we're gone. So, Rick, T-Dog and Daryl, come with me."

The chosen men joined the Deputy, slowly. And they slowly made their way out of the sanctuary, and through the rest of the church. Cali and the rest of the camp sat down in the pews, and listened for anything that suggested danger. There was just silence. Lovely, peaceful silence. It had been a while since they were given complete silence.

It wasn't long before Carl and Sophia had drifted off to sleep in their mother's laps. Hell, Glenn's head had slumped against Cali's shoulder, and she didn't have the heart to wake him. It had kind of been a long day, but hey, almost dying does that to you. Tuckers you out a bit.

The remaining camp seemed content to sit in silence. The mothers were stroking their children's hair, small smiles on their faces. Glenn was murmuring in his sleep like he always did. Dale sat with a comforting hand over Andrea's who's eyes were still a thousand miles away. Cali had her eyes open, just following the colorful patterns the stained glass made on the ground.

The camp sat in complete silence.

It was because of the silence, that the sound of a cocking gun scared her all the more. They all turned towards the noise, and were met with the steely gaze of a gun barrel.

"Who the fuck are you?"

**Whoo! A cliffhanger! It's kind of like a Rick roll! :D everyone hates them! So I have a question for YOU! See, I had some friends mention how freaking hilarious it would be to have a BDS/TWD crossover, and I had told them, eh, maybe for Easter. So it's up to you, do you want the stranger with the gun to be the adorable MacManus brothers? (Double the Reedus, Double the Fun!) or do you want to really screw with Camp Clueless, and have a language barrier issue? :] **

**Let me know in a review! :D**

**LOVES! -Eris :]**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note!: So…uh…wow. Wow wow wow. 15 reviews…for one chapter…have I mentioned how absolutely amazing you readers are? Glad to see some old faces, and hell, welcome new family members! Cali loves your love! And I swear, my jaw dropped when I logged back on after all day!**

**And my birthday rocked :] thanks for the birthday wishes! It makes me so happy :] 17 is going to be a good year!**

**So here's the deal. I tried writing it out with the Saints, and I realized if I kept it with them, well, Cali would end up fucking Murphy…because I wouldn't be able to help myself. So they got scratched out. Damn Murphy, and his unbelievable sexiness. So I went off of a different one shot I did. It's called 'Writer recycling' :D**

**And sorry if you catch any grammar issues. Or misspelling. I have no beta…anyone interested?**

**Disclaimer!: I don't technically own The Walking Dead…but right now…Camp Clueless is MY bitch!**

Chapter Two!: We're All Wounded Anyways, In Our Respective Ways

Glenn pushed Cali to the ground, and she stifled a groan. Under the pew behind her, she saw Lori cover Carl's body with hers. The two woman met eyes, and the sheer terror was mirrored in both. Cali wasn't about to die here, and not in a church. Fucking insanity. The footsteps of the stranger got closer.

"Who the fuck are you?" Shane asked again, pressed against the door leading into the sanctuary. He had gone back to ask Dale if he would mind checking the windows, since he had seen some more Walkers sniffing around, only to catch some faceless fucker in an almost sniper position by the other door in the sanctuary.

There was no answer from the other gunman. Just silence, the cold silver of their gun still shining in the light. Cali knew this, because she could see the reflection of the gun tremble slightly on the wall. Looked like the gunman wasn't as sure of themselves as they should be.

"Look," Dale stood up slowly, his hands above his head. "We mean no harm. We just needed a place to hide while these Walkers passed outside."

Glenn's hand pushed Cali's head back down, and she took the hint. She covered her head, and stayed in that position, every breath dragging in the musky sent of the old carpet in her face was shoved in. Eyes remaining closed, she was careful not to move. Which wasn't easy, considering her adrenaline rush.

The gunman still gave no answer, so Dale move a few inches, trying to get out of the pews. The gun was instantly trained on him. "Ne baise homme déplacer vieux!" The man finally spoke, and to everyone's surprise, it was a woman's voice.

Dale stiffened, and he slowly glanced back at Shane. "You wouldn't happen to speak French, would you?"

"I don't." Shane growled, trying to figure out how to handle this situation.

"Fermer la gueule!" The woman's voice ordered them. Cali groaned. _French, useless in every aspect until you're held at gunpoint during the apocalypse._ She suddenly regretted high school Spanish.

"We can't understand you." Shane voiced, louder and slower then before.

"You know," Cali growled from where she was still snorting dust. "Talking louder and slower isn't going to make her understand you more."

"Qui êtes-vous?" her voice was as sharp as a razorblade. Cali clenched the carpet of the church. She couldn't really see a way to get out of this unscarred.

"Ma'am…we can't understand a word you're saying."

"Américains stupides! Je voudrais juste à côté de vous tous!"

"I think she called us stupid."

"Shut up Glenn."

"Que voulez-vous? Pourquoi êtes vous ici?"

"What the hell is going on here?" Rick's voice echoing. The gun clicked as it refocused on the sheriff. Rick's hands slowly entered the air.

"No sudden moves." Shane hissed to his friend. "She don't understand English."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Combien d'entre vous sont-ils?" The woman continued to question them, looking a just as annoyed as they were. She was probably pissed off that the survivors weren't able to follow her orders.

The other two men from the search party were slowly making their way down the stairs. They hadn't found much on their search. About three boxes of canned food, instruments, papers a priest would have.

Oh, and a man hidden in the corner, shivering. Needless to say, they had been a little worried, and had returned from the search to some answers out of the man. They hadn't expected the rest of the camp to be held at gunpoint. And by a woman, no less. Daryl swore that he got stuck with the dumbest mother fuckers left on the planet.

Daryl and T-Dog remained hidden in the shadows behind the two officers. They were just surveying the situation. Daryl continued to struggle under the weight of the person they had found passed out upstairs. The body stirred, and he lifted his head. "Shiloh?"

The woman with the gun's head snapped towards his voice, her eyes wide. Then she pushed passed the two officers and over towards where Daryl supported the man. "Êtes-vous bien? Ce que ces gens vous blesser?"

"Non, mon cher. Ils ne faisaient que regarder autour. Je pense qu'il est temps nous leur avons parlé." The man wheezed, then he looked up at Daryl. "Would ya mind settin' me down?"

Confused, the four men in the scavenger pack dragged the man over to a pew, the woman following close. The man then noticed a few legs sticking out. "Y'all can stand up now, if ya want." Cali pulled herself up immediately, curious to see who had English-blocked them.

The woman still held tight to her gun, eyes so dark they could only be described as black were still surveying the campers who pulled themselves off the ground. She had black hair pulled into a braid down her back, save for her bangs, which hung in her eyes. She was wearing a white tank top that was ripped, and stained in blood. She was clad in simple blue jeans that were shoved into a pair of boots. She looked dangerous.

The man was another story. Sandy blonde hair, green eyes clouded in a fever, but still managed to remain alert enough to give each member a stare down. His tanned skin was shiny with sweat, and his black shirt held the shine of blood. Both dried and fresh. The hands gripping the pew were covered in bandages, and scars that seemed to tell the story of the man better then he could himself.

"Sorry about thayt." The man scratched the back of his head. "See, my girl here," he gestured towards the woman. "Shiloh, well, she don't speak much English. She ain't frum here. Obviously. We been holed up in this here church for a few days now. Muh nayme's Jonas. We from Louisana. Cajon, yuh now?"

"You been bit?" Lori asked, eyes scanning the man. It could be possible, the fever, and the blood. He sure looked like he'd been through one hell of a ringer.

"Nah. Been cut up pretty good by some looters though. Gotta say, end of the world or not, ya shouldn't be robbing no church. It jus' ayn't ryte."

"Je veux leur départ Jonas. Maintenant." Shiloh whispered, and her hand was placed gently on his shoulder. He nodded at his partner. "She wants ya'll gone. Like five minutes ago."

"We won't be long." Rick explained. "There's quite the swarm of Walkers outside, and we needed a place to hide out."

"Ils se cachent à partir d'un Walker attaque mon amour. Nous ne pouvons pas les laisser aller." Jonas looked up at Shiloh. She scowled and gestured towards the group of people.

"Ainsi, ont été les dernières personnes! Rappelez-vous? Ceux qui ont essayé de nous attaquer? Que vous couper? Qui a essayé de me violer! Je ne les veux ici. Trop d'hommes!"

"Mon cher…"

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking…" Shane sighed, obviously annoyed. "What are you two saying?"

"She doesn't want you here. She doesn't trust ya'll. Like I say, we got attacked a while back."

"We'll do anything. Anything you say." Rick told Jonas. Cali stared at the two strangers, her heart racing. The potential danger of the situation was daunting. Why couldn't she be stereotypical French and run away? That would make things so much easier.

The two conversed some more, Shiloh's words getting shaper, and more heated the longer that they talked, while Jonas stayed calm, pausing occasionally to cough, or wipe sweat off his forehead. It was only when Jonas showed any sign of weakness that Shiloh's heart softened. Not that Cali could blame her in the slightest. A fever was a serious thing these days. People everywhere could fall suspect to their deaths that way. The luxury of Tylenol was now nonexistent.

"Wait a second!" Cali spoke before she realized she had done it, and she grabbed the attention of Camp Clueless, plus the Cajon Couple. "How high is your fever?"

"High 'nough."

"What if I told you that I had Tylenol. An almost full bottle, that I was willing to trade for a day or two of rest in your church, until the Walkers disperse? Sound fair?"

Jonas thought hard for a second, then turned back towards Shiloh. He went off in French, his voice taking on a pleading tone. Shiloh looked pissed, but she growled, and nodded curtly. "Alright. We'll take your deal."

"Sounds good." She nodded. "The pills are in my bag. I'll just go grab them." Glenn grabbed her by her wrist, and pulled her into a Camp Clueless huddle, that had suddenly appeared.

"You sure you want to go out there." Dale asked her. "The Walkers are still out there."

"We have too." Cali gestured towards the strangers, who's church they had stolen. "It's either produce some pills, or deal with Moulin Rouge over there."

"She can understand the French words." Jonas threw in as Shiloh narrowed her eyes. Cali only smiled at her, and turned back towards the camp. "She'll totally kill us in our sleep, we need those pills."

"Alright. But I don't want just you out there." Rick frowned.

"No way, we aren't sending out more." Shane put his foot down. "We aren't risking anymore man power than needed for this. Just isn't a gamble I wanna take."

"We really wanna lose one more?"

"You won't. Daryl's truck is _right there_. I can walk forty feet without being eaten alive. I promise." Cali assured them, rolling her eyes. She was a little more then offended. Wasn't she standing here with them? Didn't she live through all the trauma they had? She wasn't a weak little girl. She had done whatever she had needed to in order to survive this long…even if it meant climbing up a tree and living there for three days. It was her desire to live. That stupid drive that kept her going every day.

"You sure?"

"Positive." She gave her brightest smile. "Come on guys, don't you trust me?"

There was a beat of silence, before the entire, yes _entire_ camp glanced at Daryl. He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll take her out."

"Are you kidding me?" She asked, jaw smacking against the floor. "It's forty feet!"

"That's thirty nine feet too much for you." Glenn muttered. Cali discretely stabbed her elbow into his stomach. He groaned and bent over.

"I don't need a babysitter. And besides, it's like Shane said, it'd be putting both of us at risk, as opposed to only one."

"Cali…" Lori's voice adopted the tone that she usually reserved for Carl. "Don't you be arguing with us now. Now the two of you hop to it! We don't want to keep our gracious hosts waiting any longer."

"You've got to be fuc-"

The two mother's glared at Cali once more. She held up her hands. "I don't even have a word to replace it with. Fine."

"Ya don't throwin' yer fit now?" Daryl asked, tuning back into the conversation. Over the last few months, he'd become pretty good at tuning the black haired girl out.

"Waiting on you now princess."

The two of them walked towards the door, and undid the rope lock they had fashioned only an hour earlier. The rope reminded Cali how little time really passed between each hit that Camp Clueless hit in their path. They had escaped the CDC today. Two days ago, they had buried Amy. Three days ago, the camp had been attacked by a whole lot of Walkers. About a week ago, Merle had been left handcuffed to a pipe in Atlanta.

This was her life now, a bad flick that was in a constant state of fast foreword. Give that some more time, and it would be enough to send her into insanity. She was sure of it.

"Alrigh' Nia. Do me a favor. Stay quick and quiet." Daryl ordered as they opened the door. Cali nodded her response, and followed the hunter towards the car. She traced his footsteps, figuring that would be the safest path.

It amazed her how quiet he had the ability to be. Daryl was quiet he was. Didn't much like to be the center of anything, or to spend his time with meaningless words. Cali had just figured that it was his personal preference. However, that was before she had ever seen him in his element. She had known that he was a hunter to the core. She knew it every time he'd stare at her dead on. That gaze was deadly. Always would be. But actually seeing him put the skills they depended on him for to use, she realized how much of a hunter he was. He was able to boil life down to him vs. them. That insured his survival.

They reached the car, only attracting the attention of one Walker, who luckily was missing a foot. Made it easier for them though. Cali jumped up and reached through the broken window to grab her bag. She threw it around her shoulder, and turned back to Daryl, using her expression to declare that she was ready to return back towards the church. They walked a little faster, as they noticed more Walkers seem to notice them back.

Once safely back in the church, Daryl retied the knots on the rope. He gave Cali another sideways glance. "Ya sure ya be wantin' tuh hand those over?"

"We need the rest. You know that just as much as I do."

"Ya won't be getting much rest without th' pill, now will ya?"

"Yeah well, won't be getting much rest if we're being eaten alive on the highway either. Seems like this is a good idea. Besides, that guy doesn't look so good. I don't want him to die, or get any of us sick. This is the best way to do that."

Daryl only shook his head as she finished explaining her reasons. "Yer too human Nia. 'M worried about that." Those were the only words that the hunter spared for her, as he went to rejoin the rest of the people.

Cali frowned. His words didn't hurt her, but they caused an effect in her body she could only compare to ice. Human was a flaw now. She couldn't be human? What the hell was she supposed to be then? If not human, then what was left?

The dead and the Walkers? Was she supposed to be like them?

_I can't live like that. I just can't._ She had to tell herself as she steeled herself before she walked back into the sanctuary.

She put on a friendly face, and walked back in, giving her bottle of sleep to the sick man. "Here, you'll have to take double, because I broke them in half to make them last longer."

"Obliged." Jonas nodded, shaking the bottle. "Prolly would've died without this to be honest. I thank you."

"Just tell me that me and my family can sleep soundly tonight? No random attacks?"

"As long as you can promise the same for me and my girl." Jonas looked past Cali, and at Rick and Shane. "Do we have a deal. Your people stay here, and the upstairs belongs to us. We'll give you some food. But you stay here. Understand?"

"Understood completely." Rick held out his hand and Jonas shook it.

For better or for worse, Rick had made another deal. He could only hope this one wouldn't end as bad as the first.

**Thank yous!:**

**MysteryPerson!: Thanks for the review!**

**ShiveringTree: It was too fun to stop!**

**Viktorskrumpit: Good to see you back! I'm glad you were able to dance! And I really wish I could have fit the MacManus brothers into this…maybe in a one shot?**

**PlaneJane21: Awh, thanks! The 'anything goes' territory will be fun for me! Once this things pick up of course, they do say the first three chapters are the hardest! And I'll be sure to tell my teacher that ;] thanks so much! And I do try with the seriousness, but these people just need a good laugh every now and then! Thank you for the lovely review! Hope to hear from you again!**

**WillowRavenBloodstone: Awh yes :] I partied like a MacManus, no worries! And I'm glad to see you back! And well, if I had to pick anyone to back me up in the zombie apocalypse, it would totally be the MacManus brothers! Location be damned!**

**Summerlover1: Thanks! :D I appreciate it!**

**Shadowsghosts: See, everyone needs to get along in the end of the world! All these WD OC's are all 'in your face center of attention' kind of thing. I would totally be in the background if given a choice, so that's what I tried to incorporate with Cali. Thanks for the love!**

**GingerGidget: Of course there's more! This is just too much fun to stop!**

**Talen: I feel honored that you reviewed! From the bottom of my heart I thank you! And I'll be honest in saying I hadn't even thought to put him back until you told me about that! So we will probably be seeing him again soon, thanks to you! :D**

**constantlylost: Thank you! I'm almost afraid to age past 17 xD Yes, I hope they bring back the Pride of Atlanta! Gotta say, the MacManus brothers would stop my heart too! Mixed in with the Dixon of my dreams? Oh lordy!**

**Taya: Thank you! And it's just so much fun! I couldn't stop if I wanted too! Thanks for the love!**

**TheSceneIsDead: Thank you! I can assure you, I did :] and no, thank you for reading! :D truly does make my day! There needs to be more Reedus in general, you know? :]] Glad to see you back!**

**Lucy Freebird: That chemistry is hard to ignore! But they're both stubborn bastards as well, so that's going to be fun :D glad to see you're back! Hope this is enough for you guys!**

**So there it is, chapter two! Enjoy, and please review :] they make my day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note!: Hey guys! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own!**

Chapter Three: So let's just close our eyes and we'll talk in the morning, when we're able to feel the true weight of our words and why we're both here.

It wasn't that Daryl didn't sleep, he was just a very, very light sleeper. A trait that had saved his ass more times then he could count. That was the only reason he and Merle hadn't been eaten by the Walkers. Merle could sleep through…well…the end of the world. So, he'd never outwardly cursed his light sleeping.

However, there were times when it just bit him in the ass, just like it was now. He and the entire camp were trying to sleep in the statuary that the sick fucker and the French bitch had confined them too. He'd been alright during daylight, seeing has he'd pretty much taken six trips outside to get all of the other campers shit. Then, after a few hours the French bitch had come down with a box of canned food, then left. So they had gotten to eat. But it was the sleeping part that he didn't foresee as a problem.

When he had tried to sleep, everyone else's breathing had kept him awake. There were ten other people in the immediate area, and the sound of all of them breathing was driving him crazy. But what the fuck was he supposed to do about it? 'Hey ya'll, stop breathing?' Yeah, that'd go over real well. He'd just be stuck with less sleep then usual. If they bitched about it, he'd just own up, and say it was their own fucking fault.

Daryl was pulled out of his whining by the sound of a sleeping bag rustling. He opened one eye, and the darkness of the church made it hard to see what was going on. The moon was their only source of light, and its shine was contorted by the shadows of the religious figures and the stained glass that diluted its glow. All in all, just looked fucking creepy to him. He kept surveying, trying to see what had moved. Finally, he'd spotted the figure that was quietly opening the church door that lead into the annex of the building. He sat up, and did a head count. No surprise, it was Nia sneaking out of the sanctuary. He could tell, because the shirt that he had stolen from him to sleep in, was billowing down by her mid thighs. Somehow, that shirt covered just enough of her.

Groaning inwardly, Daryl got out of his own sleeping bag. He got towards the door, making no sound. Of course he made no sound. He walked out of the church part of the church, and eyed the raven haired girl quietly. She was pacing back and forth, but not with the urgency she had when she was nervous. She was walking slowly, and almost drunkenly. Impossible, he'd stolen his whiskey back from her. She couldn't seem to walk in a straight line. He leaned against the door, and kept his eyes locked on her. If it hadn't been so obvious she was flipping out, he probably would've been able to fall back asleep to this.

She needed to calm down, but he realized he wouldn't be able to get her attention without scaring her now. Trying to suppress his smirk, he snuck up behind. So quiet, he didn't even exist. Nia got a little closer, and he grabbed her around her waist, and covered her mouth, to prevent the shriek she'd undoubtedly release. He wasn't disappointed. She jumped almost six feet in the air, and his palm muffled her cry. She tore away from his arms, and once she realized who he was, fire burned in her eyes.

"_You are an asshole!_" she snarled in a whispered. Daryl didn't answer, he was trying to hard not to laugh. She pulled back her fist, but Daryl blocked her blow before it landed.

"Crabby, ain't ya?"

"You are the meanest human being left on the planet!"

"Yer prolly right." he shrugged, smirk still displayed proudly on his face. She could only glare at him, as she calmed down.

"As if sleep wasn't eluding me already, you had to go and kick start the adrenaline once more?" She eyed him warily. He only shrugged.

"Ya gave away yer damn pills, can't tell me yer surprised."

"It was worth it. We needed a safe place to sleep." her words were firm, daring him to challenge her. He would've loved too, honestly, but a discussion about how many weak spots were actually in the church probably wouldn't help her sleep none.

"Alrigh' then sleep. Git yer ass back in there, and sleep."

"Wish it was that easy."

"Whut? My lil' trick stop workin' for ya?" his trick had been foolproof, it always made his Maw sleep, no matter what kind of day she'd had. Nia only shook her head.

"What was I supposed to remember? My list would've sounded like 'got out of bed, got food, got bag from busted up truck, held at gunpoint by Satine, three minutes of peace, drove in stupid truck, nearly got incinerated by a building, held by some crazy doctor, woke up hungover…'" She trailed off as she remembered what came next.

"Fuck'd wit th' chink." Daryl supplied, his blank face turning into a scowl. He wasn't a jealous man, and he had nothing to be jealous of, seeing as he wasn't with Nia, but it didn't mean that it didn't piss him off. Of course it did. He hated that stupid little Asian.

"Yeah, I slept with Glenn." She looked down, face turning red.

"Well, might as well git some sleep."

"I really can't." Rubbing her eyes, she returned to her drunken pacing. Daryl only rolled his eyes.

"Yer gonna. Yer gonna be worthless tuh us if ya can't even walk straight."

"Awh who asked you."

"It's my back yer coverin', I ain't 'bout tuh let ya screw me over by bein' too sleepy tuh cover it."

"You're quite selfish."

"Self preservation kid." He answered simply. She growled at the nickname, audibly growled. Looked like the Wyoming woman was crabby.

"Go away. I'll deal with this myself."

"Yer doin' a real nice job." he smirked. She winced, and turned away from him, arms crossed.

"I don't like you."

"No one said ya had tuh."

"Good point." She nodded, and continued her pacing. She made it almost four more rounds in her oval like pattern before he saw her knees shake. She felt fatigue the was he'd seen baby deer do it. Their legs would get wobbly, then they'd shudder, and the next thing they knew, they were on the ground.

His overtaxed and deprived mind managed to grab the girl before shit hit the ground. She stood shakily, and grimaced when she regained her blanace. "I'm so fucking tired."

"Then sleep."

"I. Can't." she rubbed her temples. "Believe me, if it was as easy as 1, 2, 3 go! I wouldn't be sitting out her pacing. I'd be curled up in that stupid nylon bed, fast asleep. Just like the rest of you. But I can't. So I won't be. Care to give me a solution to that?"

Daryl hated being bitched at, and he would have been a lot angrier if he hadn't just prevented her from passing out on the floor, from sheer exhaustion and lack of sleep. So he took it this time, instead, he had a better idea forming in his head.

Without a word, he left Nia alone in the apex, and he returned to where the rest of the camp was still sleeping soundly. Silently, he gathered up all of Nia's bedding, and his as well. When he returned, he was met with a skeptical gaze. "What's that for?"

"Gonn' git ya tuh slee'." Was the only response he cared to share.

"Why are you out here?"

"Can' sleep wit all they breathing. Annoy's the fuck outa me."

"Light sleeper?"

"Th' very worst kind. Or th' very best, dependin' on whut yer doin'."

Nia nodded, and began tugging on one of the many string bracelets that adorned her wrists. It was the same bracelet that she had always returned to when she was nervous. The black and blue one. He narrowed his eyes at the action, then met hers. She tugged a little tighter. "Okay. I'm tired, what have you got?"

Daryl laid down her sleeping bag, and she sat down on it, legs crossed, and waiting expectantly. It always freaked him out whenever she gave him complete control. Once after the Walkers had attacked the camp in the quarry, once in the CDC and again now. She only sat expectantly, and waited for her orders. Like she was a damn dog. He sighed, and laid his down next to her. He promptly passed out on his bag, and resisted the urge to fall asleep, right then and there.

"How exactly will this help me sleep?"

"'M getting there." He assured her, waiting to see which trick came to his head first. His Maw could've written a book with the eighty different ways she used to make herself fall asleep. Unfortunately, most of those involved whiskey, and he wasn't about to put more alcohol in her system. She had more whisky in her blood then blood, he was sure. That damn party school she went to.

So the drinking was out, and that limited his choices. Finally, he decided on the most renowned way to get a little kid to sleep.

"How opposed tuh singing tuh yerself are ya?"

"What?" Despite herself, a grin had spread across Nia's face, complementing the confusion in her eyes.

"Ya heard me. Sing yerself a lullaby."

"That so doesn't work."

"Yeah, acutally, it does. Worked fer my Maw every time."

"I don't know any lullabies."

"Dudnit have tuh be a lullaby. Can be anything, jus' hum it to yourself, and it'll wear out your mind."

Nia snorted, but she fell backwards, her hair having fallen out of its knot, was splayed across the pillow, and if he looked hard enough, he could see what was left of the hickey he had given her when they had been alone in the forest. She lifted an eyebrow. "You going to listen to me sing?"

"Wuddnit planning on it." He admitted, honestly. It didn't matter to him how she got to sleep, so long as she completed the action of actually sleeping. She nodded, and closed her eyes.

"Willing to give it a try." She sighed, and was quiet, probably trying to pick out a decent song. She mulled over her options, then finally seemd to settle on one. Her voice was almost nonexistent, almost a mummer, low and soothing, to the point where he begged her to fall asleep, just so he could join her in the rest.

_Were you honest when you said _

_"I could never leave your bed" _

_Wake me up and let me know you're alive _

_And will you fall in love again _

_Is the scent slowly spreading _

_I've been answering machines all night _

_And are the doctors dancing in _

_While the ambulances sing _

_Another boy without a sharper knife _

She sang the words dully, but Daryl could tell just by the tone of the song, that it was probably from one of those damn bitchy boy bands that sang about nothing but their emo fan base fuckin' the hell out of them. The most she sang, the more he hated the song, but it wasn't long before Nia's words became more run together, and slurred out. The plan was working, and it was almost worth having this stupid song stuck in his head for the next several weeks.

Almost.

Nia's eyes finally closed, her breathing evening out, and her body finally releasing all the tension. When she slept, she looked even younger then she actually was. It might have something to do with the fact that when she was sleeping, here eyes weren't clouded with guilt and fear, and her featured weren't sketched so hardly with fatigue and sadness. Living was taking its toll on her.

But then again, it was taking it's toll on everyone. No one seemed too be in the right, that didn't stop them from trying. All they really wanted was to live. Was that so bad? To want to live without fear, guilt and pain? Would he ever be able to do it?

He knew he shouldn't even get to ask that question. Not until he found Merle, because until he saw that body, his brother wasn't dead. Probably just missing. Or wondering where the fuck the CDC was supposed to be, rather then a few wisps of smoke and the stench of death that came with the fire. That would be the only thing awaiting Merle when he got to the CDC.

Nia interrupted his thoughts, when she reached over and grabbed his hand. He waited for a second, just a small one, and gripped her hand back. He wasn't normally one for companionship, hell, his crossbow knew him better then anyone, Merle and Nia included. Alone was an addiction for him. He had enjoyed seeing how far he could go before he actually had to converse with another human caused him to realized that he believed any kind of relationship was unnecessary work for himself.

But with Nia, well fuck, he practically owned the girl. Like he had told the Chinaman 'Finders Keepers.' It wasn't that he didn't want her, but he didn't want to have to own her either. She was just too much damn work. Like puppy that never grew up. The only bad part about that was; Daryl didn't like a dog until it was a dog. The puppy stage was his least favorite, unless it was a hunting dog.

"Daryl?"

"Yeah?"

"Sweet dreams. Sleep well." She yawned, and the singing died down once more as her mind finally allowed the girl to sleep. She was out like a light, leaving the hunter alone with this thoughts, which were working too hard to escape his brain. All he wanted was sleep, and he intended to get it.

Still holding Nia's hands, he closed his eyes, planning for sleep. And he was more then surprised to find that her rhythmic breathing didn't bother him at all. In fact, it was that little push that he needed to fall asleep.

.:.

He awoke the next morning with a start, eyes daring around the annex, trying to pinpoint what had woken him up, and at the crack of dawn as it were. He was surprised to find the sick fucker from last night making his way slowly down the stairs. That man shouldn't be standing, let alone walking. He reached the bottom of the steps, and took notice of the hunter and the prey laying there, in a tangle of limbs because Daryl gets cold at night, and Nia doesn't know what personal space means.

Giving the two of them a smile, he opened his mouth. Daryl instantly motioned for him to be quiet. He'd found out the hard was that the only thing harder then getting Nia to fall asleep, was keeping her that way. Any time he'd tried to move away from her, she'd either growled or whimpered, and come dangerously close to waking up.

The sick man, Jonas? Was that it? Yeah, Daryl was pretty sure it was. Jonas nodded his understanding and walked over to them. Keeping his voice low, he leaned toward Daryl. "Sorry, down here has the only bathroom."

"Nawt a problem." Daryl answered, not really giving a fuck. Jonas looked down at Nia, who had an arm around Daryl's waist, and her head buried into his shoulder.

"So, she yur girl?" The Cajon boy smirked. Daryl glared at him.

"Nawh man, she just don't sleep. Used them pills she gave ya tuh sleep at night. Can't really do it without them."

Jonas shook his head. "Sorry 'bout thayt. But Shiloh was adamant, she didn't want ya'll stayin' less we got something out of the deal. And we need thayt medicine."

"Whut fer?"

"Well, fever breaker for starters. Plus, we got a few sore bones an' daryk bruises to attend to. Few stab wounds that need to be cleaned out, and I ain't letting her touch me 'gain if she don't give me no painkillers first."

"Ya'll go stabbed?"

"Yup."

"By who?"

"Long story my friend."

"I'm up anyways." Daryl retorted, finding the blonde man with hair that stuck up fucking all which ways, less annoying then he had expected.

"Alrigh' the. Shame yah don't speak French. Shi tells the story much betta. But basically, I was studying abroad in Paris right? And that's where I meet Shiloh. Her black as fuck eyes met mine as she was getting continually hit on by some fat American bastard. So I went over there and played the part of surrogete boyfriend fur her. Wasn't long before that became the real title I got.

"Not very soon after that, maybe four months, she was getting on plane with me to meet my folks. She's never lived outside of France, with a layover in Georgia. It was kind of funny, she mentioned as we got on the train that America was weird. Especially with that dead man trying to eat his wife.

"Needless to say that we got our act together pretty fuckin' quick. I wasn't about to let a bunch of undead fucks get to the girl I had actually had to work for. So we got ourselves some guns, became familer, and got a hell of a lot better at my French. Shi, she knows some English, but not enough to really communicate. She can understand a bit more then she can say. Anyways, we ended up in this church, about a week, week and a half ago? Somewhere around there, and we kept the place in lockdown, and tried to survive. We were doing alright, until about three days ago."

"Ya'll got attacked, right?"

"Yeah. Group of men. They busted right in here, looking for a place to ride out a thunderstorm they thought was coming. Sure as fuck, there was one, and my and Shi decided that we would use the storm as our protectors. We'd use the thunder to mask our sounds. What when didn't count on, was that one of those men might actually be a problem.

He found where me and Shiloh had been hiding almost instantly, his eyes got so dark, and disgusting. That's the only way I could think to describe it. He ordered his cronies to hold me back while they…took turns…with Shiloh. They almost did too, but Shiloh managed to kick the big fucker where it hurt. He threw her too the ground, and began raining blows down on her, while I got into a knifeless fight with the two men who actually had knives.

"After they beat the shit out of us, the leader laughed, and he pet each of our heads and told us 'to be good while he was gone, cuz he was going to come back, and we had better be waiting for him."

Jonas sat in silence for a while, and Daryl let him. Each story that each person had about this ordeal was different, and each heartbreaking to a degree. Jonas finally took a deep breath. "We're worried that he'd going to come back. So that's why we didn't want to let ya'll in. We don't know who works for this monster, and who doesn't."

Jonas stood up again, and held out his hand. "I really need to piss. Been stuck in bed for the last few days. Anyways, it was nice talking to yah…"

"Daryl." The hunter supplied, and shook the Cajon's hand. "'T was nice."

"It's scary." Jonas looked solemn as he said this. "That even in the midst of the worst thing our world has ever experienced, and there's still people out there, stealing and raping." The tan man shivered. "I can't let him get Shiloh. I just can't.

"You gotta tell me that you'll look after your girl there. Precious cargo man. Yuh have tuh keep that eye on her at all times. You never know when those men might be back."

Jonas made his way over to the bathrooms, and Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose. Figures that there's a turf war over the place that they were staying. He couldn't fucking believe it. They had the worst luck ever, because Daryl knew, right then, that hey would be around to take on this group of men that had attack the Cajon, and the French Fighter, who plays dirty.

Daryl looked down at the black haired head was on his chest, and her breathing still slow. Daryl rolled his eyes. ''M going to spend too much time lookin' after you." he mumbled, trying to expel the sleep from his systems.

"No you won't." She assured him, which surprised him, because he had been sure she had been sleeping.

"I won't?"

"Nope. Shit, give me some credit. I've survived this long with you all haven't I? I'm a big girl and I know what to do. So yes, I am good." She yawned. He only smirked in response.

"Ya think so?"

"Just shut back up. I wan to go back to sleep." she answered as she cuddled closer to Daryl. "We got some time before any of them wake up."

Wrapping both his arms around the little girl, he took a breath, and tried to push that stupid song she had gotten stuck in his head. "Sleep good."

"I will, just shut the fuck up."

The only sound in the annex after that, was a small chuckle, and the steady sound of Nia's breathing.

**Willow-Cali/Murphy would have been inevitable, and let's be realistic, Daryl will only forgive her so many times! I think having him come back would be fun! And I hope so :] 18+ scares the hell out of me!**

**Viktorskrumpet: Thank you! :DDD and oh good! I was worried about Shiloh and Jonas' introduction! The angry swearing stares are my favorite part of babysitting xD**

**Summerlove1: Yeah warm fuzzy feelings!**

**Lucy Freebird: Thank you! :D I try to make Cali as human as possible!**

**Kdk2013: lol xD the only reason his name is Jonas, is because I was listening to my iPod, and well, you'd never guess what song came on ;) **

**UrWorstNightmare: Thanks! :DD it was a good one! And I'll try to keep her screwed up way of thinking in there for you!**

**Rickii101: Well…Camp Clueless does have the worst luck…**

**Constantlylost: it's be weird if she didn't fuck them! Thanks for totally getting it ;)**

**Taya: I hope this appeased your curiosity :]**

**Willoeshine: The dictionary seemed necessary. :D and seriously? I would steal all the Tylenol I could get my hands on! Idiots!**

**Talen667: Me either! I've missed his character! And thanks so much! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note!: Sorry about the wait guys…I had to go to prom yesterday, and since I can't post this on facebook, because the total dick who took me and I are friends there, I just have to get this off my chest…**

**WHAT KIND OF AN ASSHOLE MOTHER FUCKER INVITES A GIRL JUST SO HE CAN TALK ABOUT SOME ITALIAN GIRL HE MET ON CHAT ROULETTE! HELLO! CAN ANYONE SAY '55 YEAR OLD MAN JACKING OFF THE WHOLE TIME?' NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE ASS NEVER TOLD ME I LOOKED PRETTY…AND HE MADE FUN OF ME THE WHOLE DANCE. IT SUCKED! PROM IS EVIL AS FUCK!**

…**and now I'm better :D I hate him….but sadly, because of him, ya'll are stuck with some angst. Now really quick note, when Shiloh and Jonas are talking, the italics mean they're speaking French! I didn't wanna do the whole 'Google translate, then English translation in italics' thing for you guys. It's a pain in the ass with BDS and I just wish they only spoke one language! But yeah, that's why it's like that.**

**At the end of this chapter, you will be asked to yet again, make a choice, so promise me you'll do that! :DDD **

**Eris loves you!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own…but seriously, we need to petition to get a normal person on that show!**

Chapter Four: Some Say, It's All Fate, But I Say We Control Our Lives And If My Destiny Should Out Best Me Then That's Fine

Cali yawned, attempting to dispel the last of the sleep from her system. She didn't have a clue on how he did it, but the hunter could knock her out like it was difficult at all! Which was a complete and total lie, sleeping was hard for her. So incredibly hard. It didn't help that insomnia thrived off of stress and anxiety. She was in a constant state of fear, and paranoia thrown in with insomnia…well, she wasn't ever planning on having a night of sleep where she didn't wake up at least three times. It would kill her. There was no way it wouldn't.

Unless, of course, Daryl showed up like he did and somehow, manage to make her fall asleep. Not only that, he'd stayed with her. Hell, she'd woken up with her back pressed against his chest, and his arm thrown over her waist. There was no denying that there had been some slight cuddling…but that was only because Cali got cold at night. Daryl just had personal space issues. And that was all she had to say on the matter.

But that had been two days ago, and he hadn't been near her since. Although, she supposed she didn't need him technically. The lullaby thing worked like a charm. She just had to sleep farther away from the rest of the camp, so they didn't think she was talking to herself or something along those lines. They already thought she was insane. She didn't need to give them more proof.

"Carl! You can't play up there!" Cali was pulled out of her thought as she saw Carl and Sophia run up the alter of the church. Shiloh and Jonas had calmed down some, probably when they noticed how inept Camp Clueless really was. They had become friendly even. Shiloh smiled more, but made no effort to practice her English. "That's holy!"

"You're holy!"

"Really?" Cali cocked out a hip, and rested her hand on it. "You wanna go boy?"

"If you cock out that hip any farther, you gonn' fall on your face Cali!"

"If I was your mama I'd kick your as-"

"Ain't doin' no good yellin' at kids Nia." Daryl snorted from the doorway, he held a cardboard box in his hands. Glenn had proved himself an excellent scavenger once again, finding a few boxes of clothes that were going to be donated, but never were. It was a Godsend. It wouldn't stay summer forever, and the entire camp was sick of the clothes they had been stuck in.

"He started it!"

"How could I start anything?" Carl asked, blue eyes wide with sugary innocence. "I'm just a kid."

"Com'n Nia. Leave th' poor kid alone."

"He's not…but…."

Above the scene, Jonas was laying on a pew in the balcony, his head resting in Shiloh's lap. They were both watching the scene before them with mild interest. Shiloh tilted her head to the side, dark eyes laughing._ "Those two dating?"_

"_They denied it when I asked, but there's something there. There has to be."_

"_You can cut the sexual tension with one of those little spoon forks you Americans made, because you're too damn lazy to get a spoon, and a fork."_ Shiloh smirked. Jonas rolled his eyes.

"_We were able to invent that, because when the idea of it came to light, America went the whole nine yards. We didn't surrender as soon as it got too hard." _

"_Ass!"_ Shiloh open palmed her boyfriend's head. He winced.

"_That hurt."_

"_Baby."_

The two sat there for a while, the future running through Jonas' and the past haunting Shiloh's. She always had that man that had almost raped her in the back of her mind. He was every dark shadow, every weird noise, every male laugh she heard. And even though the men that had come in the new camp were nice, she was still wary. She was going to be wary until that monster came back. Jonas had told her that he would be, and what was she supposed to do then? Pray he didn't hurt her? Pray he didn't hurt Jonas?

Pray he didn't hurt any of the other people who were now in their church. She knew that they were fixing to leave, but she almost didn't want them too. Her motives were purely selfish. She had a better chance of survival if they were around. More man power, and, if need be, more scapegoats. Shiloh was in this for the long haul. All she had now was Jonas, and the gun that had been shoved into her hands. She intended to keep both around for as long as possible.

No matter what.

.:.

Cali stretched out on the floor in the church, her head next to Glenn's, who was laying the opposite way. They had been bored out of their minds, having done everything they could possibly think of in the building. The Walkers had pretty much thinned out, just a few stragglers left, and the Camp was planning on heading out in the morning. Cali was glad, she felt trapped in the small building, and she missed fresh air. That's the thing with the Wyoming bread, you can't leave them inside very long. They get depressed, stir crazy, and downright bitchy…in some cases.

"Why do you pick fights with Daryl?" Glenn asked, breaking the silence. Cali raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"The two of you, you just look for reasons to attack each other. And usually, your reasons suck."

"I don't really know…I think it might just be stress relief."

"Stress relief?"

"Yeah, like, I get pissed off when I get stressed out, and Daryl's always pissed off, so I take my pissed out on him, and he lets some of his off at me."

"That is like, the exact opposite of a healthy relationship. You know that right?"

"Sorry, when did you become the expert on romance there, Glenny?"

Instead of the smart retort Cali expected, she was met with silence. She turned to look over at her Asian Amigo, and noticed his eyes were a thousand miles away. Not sure if she should feel bad or not, she sat up, and grabbed his hand. Giving it a squeeze, she brought him back. He smiled at her and sat us as well.

"When are we eating?"

"Right now!" Sophia called to them from the door. "Come on!"

The three of them wandered into the social hall, were everyone else was gathered. Except Andrea and Lori, who were in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. It was the most normal thing any of the women had done in a long time, and they were enjoying it way to much to stop. Shiloh and Jonas were going to eat well for days after Camp Clueless left.

"Tayke a seat." Jonas smiled from the wall he was leaning against. Ever since his fever had broke, and he had gotten better, he was intent on being up and around. "We 'bout tuh staryt this paryty." He shot them a grin.

Lori and Andrea brought out tray after tray of food, and the dishes weren't connected in any way. Just whatever the two of them had been able to pull together from the hundreds of cans they had found in the basement. This church was so well stocked, it was surprising.

"This looks great!"

"Wow." Glenn smiled. "This must be why you women are always in the kitchen! You're good at it!"

"Oh no you didn't." Lori's hands went straight to her hips.

"What?"

"You know what, just because this is the end of the world, does not mean that we don't have rights! We're still just as important as you are, and we won't be talked down to anymore!" Andrea crossed her arms.

"I-I didn't mean-"

"Damn straight!" Cali slammed a hand on the table. "We are now officially the WWSA! The Walker Women Suffrage Association!"

"Way to go Glenn." Shane groaned. "Now we gotta deal with this shit."

"Language!" Carol and Lori chided Shane, giving him the same look they usually reserved for Cali.

"Ya'll gawtta be th' most screwed up individuals I ever seen." Jonas snorted. Shiloh, who was sitting up on a table near him, smiled and shook her head.

"Just a little something to remember us by." Cali smiled.

"Now tell me, are ya'll sure you don't want to come with us tomorrow?" Rick asked. Jonas chewed on his lip.

"Naw so syure tha's such a good idea is all."

"Why not?"

"More mouth to feed."

"Well, with your persmission, we'll pack up the extent of what the church is holding. Then we head off in the general area of where Ft. Benning is."

Jonas turned toward Shiloh, and started translating for her. Eyes narrowed, she listened to what Jonas had to say, then she thought hard. The black eyes were shiny. She asked an occasional question, but listened for the majority of the conversation.

Cali stared, chewing on her food, and thinking that these people really should come with them. Especially if they have a scary group of people after them. Jonas had woken her up when she had been sleeping on Daryl's chest, and she'd listened very carefully to the story. They needed to get out of here, and Rick was giving them that opportunity. They could be safe.

Finally, Shiloh gave a nod, and turned away from the group. Jonas gave a small smile. "Ya'll sure ya want us?"

"Absolutely. We need all the man power we can get. And it seems that you and Shiloh know how to take care of yourselves. Why not? We'll leave tomorrow."

"Sounds good." Jonas nodded and threw his arm around Shiloh. She smiled and leaned into her boyfriend.

_A nice, normal, healthy couple. That'll be a nice change._ Cali smirked to herself. Those poor people had no idea what they were willingly getting into.

An Asian Porno Pizza Boy, a corrupted Lawman and his little Deputy, a Best Friend Killer, little sassy bastard children, and that horrid time when all the women at camp were on their period at the same time.

But what could she say? They were family. And she loved them to death.

.:.

_So hush little baby don't you cry_

_Everything's gonna be alright_

_Stiffen that upper lip up little lady _

_I told ya, daddy's here to hold ya through the night_

_I know mommy's not here right now and we don't know why_

_We feel how we feel inside-_

The tinkling sound of glass interrupted Cali's singing. She froze, straining her ears to hear something else, but there was nothing. Jus the same silence she'd been fighting since the sun had gone down. She repositioned herself under her sleeping bag, but it didn't make her paranoia die down anymore.

She had heard the glass, right?

Cali closed her eyes once more, trying to pull the song back out of her brain, and drag herself back to the brink of drowsiness that she had been teetering on. She was just paranoid.

Right?

She opened her eyes, and looked around. All the windows in the church were intact, and the only thing that was out of place was someone sitting up in their area.

It was Daryl.

Any doubts she had formally had were expelled immediately. Worst case scenario: someone broke into the church. Best case scenario: Jonas or Shiloh had dropped something.

Oh please let the French people be clumsy.

Daryl was crawling out of his sleeping bag now, and managing not to make any noise as he did it. Cali's heart flew into her throat and she got out of hers. Daryl's head immediately snapped towards her and he slowly made his way over.

"Whut?" his voice was barely a whisper.

"You heard that too?" she responded in the same decibel.

"Yeah. Gonn' go check it out."

"By yourself?"

"Yup."

"You can't! Remember what Jonas said? About the group of men…"

"If they in, they in. I gott' go see."

"Take Rick then. Or someone else."

"Ain't gonn' freak them out if I don't need tuh. Prolly jus' whine the sum'bitch to death anyways."

"Don't go alone."

"I'll be ten minutes. Tops."

"What if they're in here!"

"Then you'll know."

"I'm going with." Cali crossed her arms. Daryl shook his head.

"No you ain't. Yer gonn' stay here. I ain't needin' tuh babysit you out there either."

"You won't have too. I just don't want you going out alone."

"Jus' go back tuh sleep Nia."

"Not an option anymore."

"Jus' do it. I'll be right back." he turned to leave, but California reached out, and grabbed his arm. She pulled him back, but she could only get him to turn around. Before she realized it, she was under that stupid gaze again.

"Don't go. I have a really bad feeling. Please just stay here."

"I ain't gonn' let them trap us here. Gonn' see what we're up against, then come back."

That was bullshit, and they both knew it. Daryl Dixon didn't run from a fight, ever. If he ran into them, he wouldn't start running for backup. "Daryl…just let me come, that way, if you run into something, I can run back for help. Please."

Daryl scowled, but he weighed out his options. Jonas had never said how many men were in this little group, and he'd probably end up needing help. And Nia was pretty good at getting herself out of sticky situations…then again, there wasn't a damn tree in the church.

"Fine. But, ya fallow every single one a' my rules. Alla them. I say run, ya run. Get it?"

"Yeah." Cali was already on her feet. She followed behind him, and he was relieved that she at least knew how to make herself quiet. She was from Wyoming though, and everyone goes hunting at least once there.

They stalked along the hallway, trying to figure out how the intruders would've come in. All the windows downstairs were locked, and still intact. That only left upstairs. Daryl gripped the crossbow tighter, and turned back towards Nia. "Ya gotta stay here. I wanna surprise them if they up there. Jonas 'n Shiloh'll have my back. So wait here. Ya hear anything loud, then ya go get help. Alright?"

"I don't…"

"I jus' gotta make sure Nia." He assured her, then pushed her into the doorway that lead to the basement. She'd be hidden there, not easy to see. Especially with her black hair. It was the best he could do. "Be right back." He told her, then mad his way up the stairs.

She leaned against the wall, and tried to calm her heart down. That way, if something did happen, she'd be able to hear it. She had to stay on top of things. She was calm. She could handle this.

Then, the door behind her opened.

A hand covered her mouth before she could react, and she was pulled into the basement.

Banging various body parts against the hard concrete of the stairs, the figure dragged Cali deeper into the darkness. Their body shook with a sinister chuckle. "Been lookin' all over for ya there, little miss black hair. Yer French ass ain't getting away from me this time."

_He thinks I'm Shiloh?_ Cali's mind supplied her too late, because they reached the bottom of the steps, and the man threw her onto something warm. And sticky.

"Check it out there Lady Marmalade, that's what happens when you fight back. We got lucky, that he was snooping around down here. Broke a winder, then his jaw. Beat the hell out of him. Would you like tuh see?" The voice was scratchy, and had way too much happiness in what it was talking about. "Alright then, let's do it."

A small, single bulb clicked on, and Cali realized what she had been thrown onto.

Jonas' body was under her. Eyes hollow, and with pain evident in them. He was beat to shit, and knives were in his body. His blood spread, practically coating the basement floor. Cali had to resist the urge to cry and puke simultaneously.

Jonas was still warm.

The man was behind her, and he laughed. "Suck luck for your boyfriend huh? I had to send my men upstairs tuh find ya. But lookit that. You came right tuh me. And now, yer gonna pay for what you did to me." The man grabbed Cali's hair and wretched her head back. She cried out, and the hand instantly dropped from her hair.

"L-Little bird?"

"Merle!"

**Boom! So here's where I need you to help me out! So, should Cali keep Merle there, and call for Daryl, then make Daryl see what a monster his brother has become? Or should Cali let Merle escape, that way, Daryl doesn't have to face that his brother did this. Let me know in a review! :D**

**Thank yous!:**

**Viktorskrumpit: He can be a sweetie, can't he? :] that's why she puts up with his shit!**

**TheSceneIsDead: Awh! I'm glad you enjoyed the moment! :D**

**Lucy Freebird: I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we!**

**Willow: I love you xD that review made me laugh so hard! And did it end up the way you thought it would?**

**Willoeshine: October is much to long! I want season two NOW!**

**UrWorstNightmare97: Things will be getting good :D**

**Rickii101: He's a nice guy! I'm sure of it!**

**constantlylost: aren't they though? :]**

**Shadowsghosts: are you calling me a three year old? XD and I'm sure they'll figure it out. They're big kids :]**

**Jac Danvers: xD ah yes, Shiloh is pretty cool :D and yes! They need to be dysfunctional, it's how they operate! Thanks so much!**

**MyMissingHalo: Thanks for all the reviews! And my teacher's just a butt I guess xD I think if BDS had mixed, death by Reedus would have killed us all!**

**Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note!: ! I'm glad you all hate prom as much as I do :D well, he was a dick, and he missed out. So he can kiss my Montana ass and we'll all move on!**

**Second order of business, HA! I DONE GOT MOST OF YA! Surprise! Merle's back! :D and he killed Jonas! D:**

**What's Cali supposed to do?**

**Remember now, this is AU.**

**LET ME STRESS THAT ONE MORE TIME. THIS IS AU!**

**Now, onto the angst and anguish :DDD now, I followed your votes, so what happens here, ya'll brought this upon yourselves!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own The Walking Dead. Maybe it's because I like to brutally torture certain characters (*cough*anyone Reedus plays *cough cough*)**

Chapter Five: I Can't Tell The Right From The Wrong

Cali wanted to scream. She wanted to scream, cry, swear and throw a good old fashioned freak out. However, the stench of the blood, and the coppery taste of Jonas' life on her lips was enough to sort out her priorities. She flew up from the ground and towards the nearest reciprocal. With a choked sob, she threw up the food she had eaten fro dinner.

The dry heaving finally subsided, and she slumped down next to the bucket, and placed her hand over her mouth. Holding in the scream that threatened all of them. She finally took a deep breath and stared hard at Merle.

At first, she couldn't believe it was him. It just couldn't be. Merle was dead. If not dead, then a Walker. She'd always encouraged Daryl's belief that his brother was okay, but she never did. It just wasn't a possibility. Yet…here he was. Staring back at Cali with a shocked look, covered in blood, and a knife in his hands.

Merle killed Jonas.

"Lil Bird…?"

"Shut the fuck up." Her voice was much harder then she had expected it to be. She was so…so…angry.

He had _killed _Jonas! Jonas meant something to someone. Jonas was needed! And it wasn't like the kind of death that Cali had been sadly getting used to. A suicide, or a reanimation of a Walker. This was murder. Good old murder.

Murder, caused by drugs it looked like. The whites of Merle' eyes were almost blood red, and there were blood blisters under his nose. Looks like he ran into a group of people who shared similar hobbies.

"What the hell is this!" She finally screamed, her shock subsiding as her mind caught up with her body. "What the hell!"

"Shut th' fuck up!"

"No! You killed Jonas! How could you do that!"

"Needed the supplies. I have mouths tuh feed too!"

"Who's mouth!"

"About six others." He admitted. "Righ' now, they upstairs lookin' fer the French bitch."

Something in the back of her mind started tingling. That was important, but why. What the hell did that have to do with anyth-

"Daryl!" She suddenly gasped, turning towards the stairs. "Oh shit!"

"Whoa, hold on now!" Merle reached out with his left hand, and grabbed the back of her shirt, and pulled her back, pretty much tossing her back on the blood soaked ground. "Ya ain't goin' up there."

"Daryl went upstairs! He went to find out what that noise came from!"

"Th' fuck? He mus' be losin' his touch. Broke the window down here. Stupid fucker." Merle rolled his eyes.

"He could be in trouble!"

"He ain't. He could take all six of them fuckers if-en he wanted tuh."

"I'm going up, I have to go make sure everyone's okay!" Pulling herself off the slick ground once more, she made her way for the stairwell.

Merle proved to her then that he taught Daryl everything he knows. He managed to get behind her without a single indication that he moved. His left hand was over her mouth once more, and his lips at her ears. "Naw Naw, Lil Bird. Can't be having them coming down here. 'Specially not my little brother. Now how doya think he'd react tuh this little scene?"

Anger. Daryl would be angry, confused, pissed. Probably shut himself off from the rest of them for a long time. No doubt, even given the severity of his crimes, Daryl would still fight to defend Merle. Probably causing an even bigger rift between the hunter and the camp.

But if she didn't tell him, it'd be one more strike she'd cause between them. She didn't want to lie to him anymore. And it wouldn't be just him either! How was she supposed to explain to the whole camp about Jonas? She just happened to walk down the stairs, against Daryl's orders, and she tripped and landed on top of Jonas?

If she called him down, she hurt Daryl.

If she lied, then she hurt Daryl, Shiloh, and Jonas.

She was going to hurt him no matter what, so what was the right choice? Which one needed to be done.

Cali opened her mouth and bit down on Merle's hand. He yelped, and threw her back on the ground. She hit it hard, but she lifted her head immediately. "DARYL! SHANE! RICK! SOMEONE! HELP!"

"Shut up ya stupid bitch!" Merle jumped on top of her, trying to shut her up. She felt her back pop, and the air was forced out of her lungs.

"DARYL!"

"Shut up!"

The door to the basement opened, and Cali yelled for help once more. Three pairs of footsteps clamored down the concrete, and all three stopped at the same time.

Merle's head was down, so all the feet couldn't see who he was. They could only see Cali under him, and Jonas' lifeless eyes, warning them to run.

Rick, Shane and Daryl could only stare.

* * *

><p>"Sum'bitch! Git th' fuck off her!" Daryl growled as he immediately tackled the man on top of Nia. The man gave a growl, and fought back with an intensity that he hadn't experienced in a while. A fist here, and a kick there, and the two men were locked in a blind brawl, both pairs of eyes shut, swinging on blind faith.<p>

"Daryl! Get off! Now!" Nia begged him as she pulled herself off the ground. "Daryl walk away!"

Daryl didn't hear her, and even if he had, he wouldn't have stopped. He'd gotten his damn chest pulverized by some massive mother fucker hopped up on something, who had been beating Shiloh in the damn teeth like some kind of hick fuck up.

Never hit women, that was one of the lessons his Maw had instilled in his head, and he'd be damned if he let it continue under his watch.

"Daryl! Get off!" Nia screamed this time, and he recognized the hysterical tone in her voice, it had been that way when he had to deal with her in the forest. Pissed beyond all belief.

Daryl pushed the larger man off him, and wiped the blood off his face. Who the fuck was this guy? He was strong, and he knew how to fight.

Nia ran over towards Daryl, and started pushing him back towards the stairs. He looked down at her, and wince. She was covered in blood, soaking through her black tank top, and her shorts, and covering her bare legs. Her arms showed dark bruises already in the making, and there was blood over her mouth, in the shape of a hand.

She looked like a Walker.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. Please." She whispered, but Daryl tore his gaze from her, to the man who was now leaning against the wall, head still bent.

"Hey mother fucker! Ya get some kind kick outa hurtin' people! Th' fuck is wrong wit' ya!"

"Daryl please, let's just go."

"I think Cali has the right idea." Rick told him, realization dawning on his face. A shudder traveled up the Sherriff's spine as he realized the new danger of the situation.

"Th' fuck? No! This fucker killed Jonas! Look! His fuckin' men beat the hell out of Shiloh and he was fuckin' on top'a Nia!"

"Please Daryl! Just come up with me!" Nia begged, her hand on his arm.

"Ya wanna know th' fuck's wrong wit' me?" The man finally spoke and Daryl's body froze. "Same thing that's fuckin' ya up. Our ol' fuckin' man."

No fucking way. There was no fucking way that was Merle. Merle couldn't have been the man who beat the hell out of Jonas and Shiloh that first time, or the man that broke into the church, the man that killed Jonas…no way.

The man finally lifted his head, and Daryl's heart stopped. "Man, ya pack on fuckin' punch don't ya?"

Nia bowed her head, and sniffed, but Daryl couldn't look away from his brother. He'd spent God knows how many hours wondering where he was, if he was okay, just to find him like this? After he had fucking _killed_ someone Daryl considered (if not a friend) tolerable.

That's when Daryl snapped.

He lunged towards Merle, and began beating the ever living shit out of the man. "Ya mother fucker!"

Merle tried to fight back, but blind rage mixed with a Dixon usually met someone hit the pavement and didn't get back up, this was one of those times. Daryl slammed his fist into his brother's fucking head over and over, until that worthless sack of shit was unconscious on the floor, where he belonged.

Daryl pulled his fist back, to keep hitting him, but Rick ran over and grabbed Daryl's fist, while Nia dropped to her knees in front of him, tears eroding the blood on her face. "Stop, please stop!"

"Move!" He snarled.

"Daryl please!" Nia was sobbing now.

"Hey!" The fuckin' chink's voice called down the steps. "Is everyone okay down here?"

"Glenn, come get Cali." Rick ordered, and the chink came back down, and froze in the same area that everyone else had. His eyes went wide as he took in the body, the blood and…Merle Dixon. Alive, with a neat little stump where is right hand should've been.

"Com'n Cali." the chink mumbled as he made his way gingerly through the blood. He put his arm around the crying girl and lead her towards the door, pausing as he reached Rick. "Shiloh is upstairs, waiting for Jonas to come back up."

"Oh Jesus." Rick rubbed his face. "How the hell do we explain what happened?"

"Bring th' bitch down here. Ain't like ya can fuckin' explain it tuh her. Can't fuckin' speak English." Daryl snarled at the two officers, anger having not died down yet.

Shane turned towards the hick, anger flaring in his features. "Listen here you fucker! That's woman's man is dead now! Because of your dumbass fucked up brother! So you can just shut your damn mouth why we try and figure out what to do here!"

"Git th' fuck out my face!" Daryl shoved the deputy, and smirked inwardly when the deputy shoved back. Rick immediately got in between the two, and shoved Shane towards the stairs.

"Damage control. Now." He ordered. "Go calm everyone up there down. We'll figure something out in the meantime."

Shane growled, but begrudgingly made his way up the stairs, where he had no doubt that the entire camp had flocked, once California had emerged covered in blood.

Rick turned towards Daryl, who's eyes were still hard and pissed. Anger stained the blue of his eyes, and resided in the shaking of his fists by his side. Rick knew he was going to have to play this one very…very carefully.

"Okay, what do you want to do with him?"

"Why don't ya tell me? Ya did such a fucking good job of it last time."

"Hey, that has nothing to do with this situation!"

"Tha' has everything to do with this situation!"

"No it do-"

The door to the basement opened again, and Daryl immediately tensed up. He was so fucking on edge it almost hurt. He was going to explode any second. He could feel it.

The steps were constant, but they froze in the same spot the rest had. Daryl could only bring himself to look at the shoes, as a means of identification.

Boots. Simple boots.

"J-Jonas?" The usually strong voice was quelled down to a whimper, and the weakness emanating off the woman was palpable. "Jonas!"

"Ms. Shiloh…" Rick turned towards her, trying desperately to salvage any French from the back of his head. None of his phrases were going to help him now.

"Ce qui s'est passé! Ce qui ne va pas avec lui?" Her voice was frantic as she ran over to the body of her boyfriend. Dropping to her knees, she placed a trembling hand on his face, and wiped off a few stray streaks of blood.

The woman bent over the body, and her body began to shake with sobs. She lifted pressed her lips to his forehead, and cried, her tears landing on his cheek, and fell down like he was crying with her. She reached a trembling hand out to close his eyes.

All the while, sobbing the word _Why?_

* * *

><p>"I don't know how we're supposed to talk to her." Rick shook his head. "She deserves to hear the truth."<p>

"An' wha's that? The fuckin' Big Bad Dixons strike again?" Daryl growled, and tore his eyes away from the bathroom door. "Ya'll're jus' gonn' pin the whole damn thing on Merle."

"Merle killed him, you can't deny that." Rick argued as he used the rope that had been used to keep the door shut, to subdue Merle, and keep him tied to a handicapped bar in the bathroom.

"Don't much matter to me. He's kin. Ya ain't blamin' this whole thing on him. There were six other guys."

"That all ran off. They left Merle here."

"Prolly thought he was fuckin' balls deep a' this point."

"He almost was!" Rick's voice adopted that rare kind of malice that eh only got when he was extremely pissed off. "Except, as if intent to rape Shiloh wasn't bad enough, he wasn't on top of _her_ when we came down here, was he?"

Daryl felt a fresh wave of anger flow across his body. No way. Merle wouldn't rape Nia. He just fuckin' wouldn't.

Then again, Daryl had believe that his brother would kill a man for no good reason. He had believe his brother wouldn't rape a woman.

But fuck if any of that mattered. Merle was family. And Daryl would do everything he could to defend him. Even if he had raped Nia. Nothing was more important then family.

Not even this damn camp. If it came down to them and his brother, Daryl would take that stupid mother fucker, and they'd go off on their own once more.

The two of them hadn't noticed Shiloh walk into the men's room. Her usually neat braid was undone, and the wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her black eyes were surrounded by red, and seared with anguish. She walked over to the two of them, and handed Rick a pad of paper, with some hastily scrawled words.

_What the fuck happened here?_

"You speak English?"

_Can't speak it. But I can understand your words. And I can write mine. What happened to Jonas_? She put the pen behind her ear, and waited expectantly.

"Th' men tha' attacked ya'll before, came back. Caught him with his pants down." Daryl answered, an Rick shot him a glare. Shiloh's eyes narrowed in confusion, and Rick took over.

"The man that attacked you two before, he might have surprised Jonas. Didn't even give him any time to react."

Shiloh held the pen over the paper, but her eyes welled up with tears before she could get the words out. The trembling took over and she dropped her pen. Rick leaned over to retrieve it for her, and she snarled.

Snatching the pen she returned to her paper. _I do not need the pity. I want to know what you will do with him._

"Well," Rick scratched the back of his head. "We're in your court now. Up to you."

Shiloh looked between the two men, distrust shone brighter in her eyes now then they did before. She was dangerous once more, especially with Jonas out of the picture. It had been obvious that Jonas was the catalyst for her anger and illogical behavior. In someway similar to the way Nia and Daryl operated.

Now, she was uncapped, and ready to unleash Pandora's box.

She ran her eyes over Merle's rugged and rather unkempt apperance, and the blood on his clothes and hands, before she returned the pen to the paper.

The sound of the writing echoed off the walls, and sounded deafening to Daryl. Grimes had all but handed Merle's life over to the woman.

She handed them the notepad back, her eyes set to kill.

_I want him dead_

**Thank yous!:**

**MyMissingHalo: You know what, he was a dick, and he is totally gay….he left me like three times to go dance with dudes…? Anyways, I hope this works out right, and the characterizations are alright!**

**Green Eyed Faerie: Hey! Maybe we were at the same prom! How crazy would that be! O.o **

**Anyways, let's hope that Cali's decision to be honest, doesn't bite her in the ass!**

**Willow: Thank you, for indirectly giving me a new storyline :] 'Shiloh will be screaming for his blood' is definitely a much more interesting approach! And I have read More Than Survival, and it's bad ass!**

**MissUnderRated: You made an excellent point, rape is kind of a friendship breaker!**

**Lucy Freebird: Prom does suck, boys aren't worth any of it :] and I will try to keep a regular update schedule! Just for you ;)**

**Shadowsghosts: Ah yes, the Cali vs. Daryl extravaganzas, well, how about I sneak a few of them in there. In fact, let's have a camp clueless wide deathmatch! And I really rather like the way that you explained their relationship. 'They complete each other in a circle drawn by a three year old' ;] mind if I use that in the fic?**

**ShiveringTree: I took your advice!**

**Talen667: Yeah, screaming would be the logical response to that, but then again, when has Cali ever been normal? But Daryl does deserve to know, you're right.**

**TheSceneIsDead: Speechless. :] Boom! Winning!**

**GingerGidget: I'm sorry! Cliffhangers are just so fun :D Daryl will be getting somewhere with her. At least.**

**UrWorstNightmare97: Oh yes, we will find out what's fucked Merle up soon!**

**Rickii101: I know :[ Jonas was a favorite. It hurt to do it.**

**PlasticCandy: He did need to see it. And yes! Poor Glenn and his horrid timing!**

**Constantlylost: They will attempt the comfort thing. Remember, Cali's sort of covered in a good man's blood right now. She's gonna need a breather.**

**Viktorskrumpit: Thanks so much! And I know xD this is a Daryl/OC story…I should probably reestablish their relationship.**

**Willoeshine: Your entire review had me in stitches xD and don't give up on prom! It's fun getting to feel like a princess! You just have to go with the right person. And not a dick whore like I did. Carl vs. Cali is always fun. Good to see that our twenty year old history major is actually fighting with a nine year old. Oh yes, Cali is a keeper. The WWSA will be having a meeting soon xD and you will find out with Glenn, soon enough!**

**And Merle…well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see…**

**Thanks for the reviews guys! :D feel like leaving another? ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note!: So, as per request of several of you, here's some love :] love is kind, is it not? Thanks for all the reviews! And I will continue to update quick, because I want to know what happens just as much as you do!**

**Okay, so really quick, did you guys know I love Lady GaGa? :D That's the main reason I call you guys my Little Zombies. Well, the Lovely Lady released her music video for 'Judas' recently, so I got my ass on that fast as I could, and you'll never guess who played Judas…**

**NORMAN FUCKING REEDUS! :D**

**God does love me :D anyways, if you haven't' seen it yet, please do! It's awesome! I'm downloading it as we speak! So serious, go check it out! He plays a biker dude ;] hot hot hot!**

**Sorry about the end…I'm just sort of a tease ;)**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own the Walking Dead, and as much as I wish I could get paid for this, well, I don't. Plain and simple!**

Chapter Six; Is It Too Late To Be Anything But What I Am?

Cali smothered another chocked sob from escaping her body as she stood in front of the mirror. The 'Power of Pinesol' was almost suffocating, but it was the only thing in the church Glenn could find to help her get the blood off of her body. As much as she hated the smell, it was leagues better than the scent of copper, and the sticky feeling of blood.

She shrugged out of her bloodstained clothes and examined the damage in the mirror. Her bra had a little bit of blood spatter on it, and there were dark bruises on her arms that made the bruises that Ed had bestowed on her look like a mascara smudge. Merle was strong, and concrete was hard. The math wasn't that hard.

She tried running her hand through her hair, only to be met with the resistance of even more blood. Well, she sure as hell wasn't going to run that through her hair. Probably make it all fall out, and she'd be damned if she went through the end of the world bald.

She cranked the sink on, and was relieved to see a stream of water fall into the basin of the sink. Turning away from the mirror, she knelt her body back so she could get the water through her hair. She just wanted to be decently clean again. That was all she wanted.

She wanted Jonas, Shiloh and the Dixon brothers out of her head. Was that really too much to ask?

"YA CAN'T FUCKIN' KILL HIM!" Daryl's voice shook through the walls. Cali jumped, her body instantly on alert. He sounded broken. Cali braces herself against the sink. This was not good. Not good at all.

There were the murmuring of voiced muffled by the wall, and was undoubtedly the cause of Daryl's anger. She walked over to the wall, ear pressed against it. Rick's voice was there, but Daryl seemed to be arguing with silence. She couldn't hear the voice that was causing the pain.

"I DON' GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YER JUSTICE! YA AIN'T KILLIN' MY BROTHER!"

Then the silence.

"YEAH, HE'S MY FUCKIN' BROTHER!"

Then the silence was broken by a heart wrenching scream, and the sound of glass shattering filled her ears once more. She jumped away from the wall, and growled. She didn't have any clothes, she couldn't get out of this bathroom until Glenn brought her stuff.

She spent the next scattering of minutes paper towel drying her hair, water then hair, over and over until the red ran clear and she finally felt rid of the death on her body.

"Hey Cali, all your stuff's a little, well nasty. So I went looking around and I found some stuff in the church's donation box." Glenn explained as he pulled in a one of the several cardboard boxes he had found on his exploration of the church.

"Anything salvageable?"

"Just barely." He gave an apologetic look as he pulled out a pair of jeans that were ripped up, but looked like they'd hold. Might be just a little tight. And an oversized long sleeve that fell off one of her shoulders, but it was better then walking around naked for the time being.

"Thanks." She threw her arms around her friend and he returned the gesture.

"Hey, are you…okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Merle did kinda sorta throw you on top of a dead guy…and almost rape you…apparently…"

"He didn't rape me!" Cali defended immediately. They were still her boys, no matter how fucked up they were.

"Close enough right? I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm…"

Broken.

Scared.

Bruised.

Terrified.

"…fine. I'm completely fine Glenn. No worries." Cali painted a smile across her face. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I just so happen to have an empty stomach I need filling."

"Oh yeah, of course." Glenn moved out of her way as she headed to the kitchen. "Oh, Cali!"

"Yeah?"

"He's in the sanctuary."

* * *

><p>She had to take great care when she crept towards the door to the sanctuary. It was open only a little, and she didn't want to scare him. No, that was the last thing she wanted to do. She'd end up impaled on an arrow or something like that.<p>

The door was opened slightly, probably aftershock from the force of which it had been slammed and she peeked in, as quietly as she could.

The hunter sat in the pews, head bowed, and shoulders slumped in defeat. His hands were on a death grip in the pew in front of him, and even from where Cali was standing, she could tell that he was trembling. The one think she lacked though, was the knowledge on how to even begin to fix this mess that had unfolding at their fingertips.

Their roles weren't often reversed. Cali was usually the one breaking, or needing support, and Daryl would protect her. In return, Cali helped him keep his head. They did that for each other, because that's who they were. Cali was a catalyst, and Daryl was the energy.

But now, Daryl was the one who needed help. If it had been any other situation, _any_ other way to deal, and she would have done whatever was asked of her to help the man who had done so much for her. But this mess, this complete clusterfuck of just plain…wrong…

How were any of them supposed to handle this?

"I can hear ya breathin'." Daryl's voice was low, and she almost missed it, if it hadn't been for the cracking at the end. She froze, unsure of what she was supposed to do. She shifted the weight from one leg to the other, and the floor creaked underneath her. The normally muted sound was the equivalent to a bomb in the small church. She closed her eyes, and waited.

"Well, now I know yer there. Might as well com're." He sighed. Cali bit her lip, and slowly approached him, not wanting to cause any sort of problem whatsoever. His grip on the pew in front of him lessoned slightly and he drew in a shaky breath.

"Can I sit down?"

"Sure."

Neither of them were looking at each other, they had to work up to that.

Every time Cali looked at him, she saw that hate in his eyes, that he reserved for anyone who dared talk bad about his brother. The same hate she'd seen in his eyes as he struck his brother down.

She saw their bond too. Daryl was one of the lucky ones, and proving luckier still. He had made it through the madness that had engulfed the world with his brother. Daryl had been able to bring his family with him. That was such a rarity these days. She didn't want anything to chance. She wanted the balance back where it belonged. Was that too much to ask?

Maybe it was, after all, the rest of Camp Clueless…hell, the rest of the world, their lives had been shattered to the point of no return. The rest of them, they had already lost everyone and everthing that mattered to them. All of it was broken, and all of it was going to stay that way. The Dixons hadn't reached that point yet, so in a cosmic sort of way, they were due for the pain that the rest of them had already suffered through.

And just like the rest of them, it wasn't fair. None of it was fair.

Cali wanted to speak, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. There was silence in this church. And uncomfortable or not, the silence was preferred to the noise. The speaking. The words that would ultimately change everything they had perfected into a their unparallel, fucked up relationship, that had them hurting each other more then helping each other. It was flawed, but it was theirs. And she wasn't ready to lose it just yet.

They had to speak at some point, but it still made her jump when the silence was broken. "Ya okay?"

"I'm fine. It wasn't…it wasn't my blood. None of it."

"Tha's…good. I guess."

"Yeah." She went to reach for her bracelets, for comfort, but recoiled when she realized that her beautiful, bright bracelets were stained with blood as well. Daryl watch her from the corner of his eye.

"Alla' them?"

"Yeah. I think so." She tugged up the long sleeve of the shirt to check each bracelet, each relationship that they represented, individually.

Her mother.

Her father.

Her favorite cousin.

Her boyfriend.

Her best friend.

Everyone she had loved enough to be a part of her life, were now tainted with the death and destruction the Merle had painted through their lives.

And, for the first time, she felt a spark of anger. How the hell could Merle do that to them. To her. To _Daryl_.

"Ya ain't hurt. Are ya?" His voice wasn't as strong as she had expected it to be. If anything, it sounded like he had just been crying. If only he'd look at her, then she could verify it. But Daryl's gaze remained fixated on the floor in front of him.

"I've got a few bruises. But other then that, I'm fine."

"Ya sure?"

"Yeah. I'm alright." She wanted to touch him, but wasn't sure if she should.

"Merle didn't…he didn't…"

"Rape me? No. He didn't. He was just trying to stop me from getting up the stairs. I panicked. I didn't know if I should yell, or if I should've just let him leave. Both were impossible to explain. I didn't know what to do." The confession slid off her tongue, wearing her guilt down like sandpaper, scraping it away grain by grain.

Daryl's sigh of relief was audible, and the burden on his back lessoned, even if it was just a little. Cali wasn't as afraid of him anymore, and she reached out and grabbed his hand. His calloused hand grasped hers gently, and she drew random shapes on his hand with her thumb.

A star.

A circle.

A smiley face.

A heart.

"How's Shiloh?"

"She's…a lot stronger than she look." He sighed, and brought his other hand up to his head. When he dropped the hand, there was blood on his fingers.

"What happened?"

"She found out Merle was my brother. Snapped, grabbed the back of my head, and smashed it intuh a mirror."

"Are you serious?"

"Yup."

"So you were screaming at her?"

"Ya heard tha?"

"I was in the bathroom. Not exactly thick walls."

"Oh. Yeah. She…she wants tuh put Merle tuh death. She thinks tha's justice, for him killing Jonas." Daryl's voice cracked once more, and Cali squeezed his hand.

"I'm not sure that's fair."

"It's fuckin' not! Bitch don't get to decide who live and who die. No way."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, if-in it comes down tuh it…grab Merle and get th' fuck out of here." He sighed, and ran his free hand over his face.

"You'd leave?" Her voice sounded even, but to the hunter, he could hear the undertones of fear hidden in the question.

"I'd have tuh."

"And…"

"Ya'd stay. Ya'd be safer here. They'll take care of ya."

"But Daryl…"

"Tha's only if I can't talk her down. If she insistent on killin' my brother. I'm getting th' fuck out. Ain't on way she's takin' what I have left." He glanced at her. "Blood's thicker than water." That was his way of apologizing for the fact that, if it came down to it, he'd leave her and run with his brother.

She'd always sort of known that, but it didn't make it any less easier to accept.

"One step at a time. This is a horridly delicate situation." She stood up. "Let me look at that cut."

After careful examination, the cut turned out to be no more then a tiny shard of glass that had gotten stuck under his cheekbone. With it out, and the area cleaned, Dr. Cali declared him cleared for combat.

"I can't believe she slammed you into a mirror." She shook her head as she situated a band-aid on the cut just right for him.

"She's scarier then she looks. Moves fuckin' fast."

"Why couldn't she be like the rest of the French, and run away when it started to look dangerous?" Cali muttered as she smoothed the band-aid and smiled. "Perfect."

"'M I gonn' live?"

"Here, we'll make sure you do." She knelt down in front of him, and pressed her lips against the cut. He stiffened, and she growled inwardly.

_He's still mad about the Glenn thing?_

She was about get up and leave, when she felt his arms circle around his waist, and he dropped his head into her shoulder. "I don' wann' do this Nia…"

"Why not?"

"If I'm leavin'…"

"We don't have that luxury. We don't get 'ifs', so either tell me yes, or tell me no. because right now, I need an answer."

Daryl brought his hands up to her face, and held her there, those damn eyes of his searching her face for any sign of weakness. If it was there, he'd find it.

This time, instead of shying under the gaze, she met it. Her big brown eyes met his blue, and there was no backing down from the prey this time. She wasn't playing around. "We both need this. Right now, I don't care if you leave. I just need you."

"Ya have no idea wha' yer askin' fer."

"I've had your back since day one. Don't you think otherwise. Now I need something. Anything, to prove to me that life still exists outside of this…existence that we've created. I don't want to just _survive_ anymore."

"We are just survivin'."

"It's not enough for me anymore." She leaned foreword, so that their foreheads were pressed together. Daryl sighed, but he closed his eyes.

"Ya sure ya want this?"

"Yes."

That was all either of them needed. Their mouths were connected, and Cali had him pushed against the pew he was sitting in. His hands traveled back down to her hips, and he pulled her into his lap. She locked her arms around his neck, and tried not to smile.

This wasn't like the first time, where they had been trying to beat the shit out of each other, more then anything. Or the second time, before the CDC blew, and it had been a goodbye wrapped into an apology as well. This was different, this was more…normal. Something that didn't have the undertone of pain or hurt in it. It was almost healthy.

Daryl flipped them, so that he was on top of her, and she was crushed between his body and the wood of the pew. The slight bit of pain that it created, wasn't even noticed. Apparently, she liked it rough and tough as well.

His mouth traveled from her lips, down her neck, and rested on her pulse point. Never one to forget an important detail, he began to alternate between scraping his teeth against the area, and sucking on it as hard as he could. Cali shuddered, and tried to resist, but she couldn't. A moan escaped her mouth, and Daryl smirked against her skin.

Cali was a history major, and if only for the reason that she had an excellent memory. Her hand traveled up to his hair, and she gave a good tug. Daryl froze, and she heard the hitch in his breath.

"Yer such a fuckin' tease Nia."

"Try me."

Daryl pushed the long sleeved shirt up her body a little, enough to expose her stomach, and the several dark bruises along the skin. He sighed, and glanced up at her. She only shrugged, unwilling to confirm or deny that Merle had caused that. She was clumsy. How was she supposed to know where she had gotten those?

He pressed his lips against every bruise, the combination of the pressure on the bruises, and the jolt it shot straight to her body arched her back off the wood, which Daryl slammed her right back into.

She growled, and shoved her hands under his shirt, and drug her jagged nails down his chest. The action was rewarded with a moan that spilled out of the hunter's mouth. She gave him her best shit eating grin. He wasn't playing with a little kid, and he always seemed to forget that.

He tugged on her shirt, and she pulled it off, hoping he wouldn't look too much, she was a little more black and blue then tan right now. She dropped her shirt on the ground, and Daryl began attacking the skin there. She pulled on his shirt, and like any good Southern boy, he did what the lady asked.

Daryl was lean, but not scary ripped like Shane. He might have been at one point, but like the rest of them, the lack of food was beginning to take it's toll on his body. She let her hands travel over his body, mostly towards his belt. He growled this time.

"Yer fuckin' around."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing?" She asked, rolling her hips against his.

"Nia…"

"Shut up and go!" She ordered him.

"Whatever ya say." He answered, going for the button on her jeans.

* * *

><p>Cali groaned as the hunter rolled off her, trying to catch their breath. Fuck, she had been right. If she had the hunter around, she wouldn't need sleeping pills.<p>

Daryl opened his eyes, then snorted.

"What?" Cali asked.

"We're in a damn church."

"Oh." Cali looked around, as if just realizing this, then she smirked once more. "It's okay. I'm not Baptist."

**So there, you go! Daryl and Cali got some lovin'! Now remember to review! :D**

**Thank yous!:**

**Lucy Freebird: She does! They just have issues expressing that sometimes!**

**MyMissingHalo: He is totally gay! Bad prom date! Bad! And there you go, Daryl got some love!**

**Viktorskrumpit: Daryl does kick ass! And I think Merle deserved it, you know? And well, I guess we'll just have to see!**

**Green Eyed Faerie: I know, that was brutal, but I really think Daryl would pick his brother over some girl. He's very family oriented you know? And what if we did go to the same prom! Quick, what was your theme?**

**GingerGidget: Protective men are cute ;]**

**Talen667: Merle needed an ass kicking! No doubt! But I think their relationship might be okay. If you can call it that :]**

**Willow: So, I got your *winkwinknudgenudge* and I hope I didn't disappoint! As for the crossover, I would love to do it! BDS/TWD would be so fun! And I have no doubts that the MacManus brother's wouldn't kick ass!**

**PlasticCandy: There's some interaction :D and you're right, Daryl is the strongest out of all of them. No doubt in my mind!**

**Rickii101: When hell freezes over he might!**

**UrWrostNightmare97: I haven't killed him yet! And there you go! Wow, everyone wanted this xD**

**Shadowsghost: That saying will be showing up soon! Thank you for seeing that too! Family is really all he has, and if it came down to it, he would pick Merle, a hundred times over. That's just who he is! He's a good man. And you're also right. It's not love, not really. It's just…there. On with the show!**

**Jac Danvers: he was a jerk! And Shiloh has a right to be, and I was sad killing Jonas! I loved him! **

**Willoeshine: Thanks for that review! It was fantastic! I'm glad you like some of the lines :DDD so, I take it I can put you down for death to Merle?**

**Alexopossum: There will be blood, I can tell you that!**

**ROSESsecret: I'm honestly…not sure yet xD**

**ChildlikeEmpress: Thanks for all the reviewing off my stuff! And I'm glad you like it! And yes :] yes he is!**

**Constantlylost: Merle's a heartbreaker. But I had to do it, you know? And he might just have to pick now!**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone, but now I gotta ask, how many want Merle to live, and how many want Merle to die?**

**Tell me in a review! Love you, my Little Zombies!**

**Eris :]**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note!: Holy shit, ya'll just loooooooooooved the church sex, didn't ya? Bunch of perverts I got reading my shit…but then again…I wrote it. ;]**

**Speaking of things I've written, by the time ya'll get around to seeing this, I'll have posted a new story! My dear reader ChildlikeEmpress requested that I write a fic to sort of explain the 'Judas' video…because she, like myself, didn't have a clue of what was going on! So, I have that up, and it's on my author page or under the Radio Drama Fandom. (Did you guys know that existed?) it's called 'King With No Crown', and it would mean a lot if you guys gave it a look see :] **

**Anyways, carry on my Little Zombies! And remember, Eris loves you!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own the Walking dead!**

Chapter Seven!: There's No Pain And No Pleasure When You're Too Numb To Feel

Cali tip-toed out of the church, not really wanting anyone to see her even remotely near the building she had just disgraced in every sense of the word. Sure, she wasn't Baptist…but that was only made worse by the fact that she was Catholic. Even now, as the world crashed and burned around her, that 'Catholic Guilt' was screaming at her. But unlike usual, she was able to ignore it much easier.

She had finally, finally gotten with Daryl. It kind of seemed like the only thing they had left to do, it was the next step in their…_thing_. Don't ask her what the fuck it was, but it was theirs, and she was happy with where it was. Even if they ended up leaving, she'd have that at least.

But God, she wished they wouldn't leave. They just couldn't. Daryl and Merle were the sole reason she wasn't feasting on flesh like the Walkers she feared. They had saved her, from death, and from reanimation. She owed them everything.

Because of that, she decided right there, that she wasn't going to blame Merle. She was on his side, and seeing how he had gone and fucked everything to high heaven, he needed more than just his brother on his side.

But, at the same time, she felt horrible for doing that to Shiloh and Jonas. Especially Jonas. Fuck, she had been thrown onto his body, taking that bullet for Shiloh luckily. But it didn't change the fact that Merle was the reason that Shiloh, who was now alone in the world, and unable to acutally speak English, was dying. A slower, even more painful death than the Walker disease. She was dying from destruction of the heart. A disease that everyone was now living with, and was treatable, if you'd let it be.

Cali was treating hers with Camp Clueless. They were her family, they were her reason to wake up, her reason to fight, and her reason to survive. That kept her from taking the 9 mm solution, like so many others had fallen too. And, with some coaxing, she would probably be able get the rest of the camp to admit that they were, indeed, living for each other. They had a reason to fight.

Shiloh had nothing.

No, scratch that, Shiloh had revenge.

A revenge, that would undoubtedly split the remaining humans left in this church straight down the middle.

And they had just gotten that whole 'unity' thing down too. It was a damn shame.

Cali pushed her way through the door, into the kitchen, where the rest of the camp, minus Rick, Shane and Daryl were gathered around a table. The conversation froze when she walked in, but once a glanced reveled who she was, the conversation continued.

"Dixon deserves to be put down." Andrea shook her head. "He's gone way to far this time. He's killed someone, _and_ he held the intent to rape. He would've too, if-"

"He wouldn't have." Cali argued, sitting down with the group at the table. She was met with disbelieving glances from all of them.

"Come on Cali…"

"Seeing as I was the one who was almost raped, don't you think I would know?"

"I think you don't have the capacity to impartial in this decision, to be honest." Dale sighed, gave her a gentle smile. "You can't let your feelings for those boys cloud your thought process."

"Back at all of you." Cali countered. "None of you like them to begin with!"

"And now you see why!" Lori tossed out. "They're not worth the trouble they cause!"

"Not…entirely fair." Glenn looked like he was struggling with his words. "Daryl was kind of the _only_ reason we haven't starved to death at this point. I did what I could, with what I had to work with, but let's be honest. We wouldn't have lasted near as long as we did without the meat."

"You know logic when praise comes from the mouth of the enemy." Dale chuckled. "Since when do you care about the Dixons?"

"Since I remembered that I was supposed to be human." Glenn answered quietly. "I don't really like them. Either of them. But I know, that this isn't morally right."

"It's justice." T-Dog tossed out.

"When did justice and revenge become the same thing?" Cali countered.

"When Merle Dixon broke into a church, high out of his mind, and killed Jonas, and attempted to rape _you_. That's when they became the same thing."

"I refuse to let the rape be a factor." Cali crossed her arms. "If you guys are looking at the death penalty, then you need to have the trial. And without a complaining witness, you only have the murder charge."

"Bullshit!"

"Don't even try it. History and Government go hand in hand my friends. I had to take a government class." A smirk crawled over her face as she regarded her friends. "You want to kill Merle, and hid behind your morals, then you do it the good old American way."

"You're outnumbered her…don't throw away every relationship here for the Dixons." Lori chided Cali, the way a mother usually did. California had to resist the urge to stick her tongue out.

"Sorry, but I'm siding with loyalty to humanity. 'Innocent until proven guilty'."

"I'd say he's more than proven himself guilty."

"I'd say it's up for debate still."

The conversation was frozen as Shane walked into the room. Everyone held their breath, they wanted this verdict. They wanted to know. It felt almost like humanity again. Would they live or die.

_Aileen Wuornos, Florida. Female serial killer, movie, "Monster," starring Charlize Theron told the story of her killing spree. She was executed in 2002._

_Scott Peterson, California. Murdered his pregnant wife, Lacy and unborn son. Sentenced to death, still on death row in California._

_Darlie Routier, Texas. Sentenced to death for killing her two young sons, still on death row in Texas._

_Richard Ramirez, California. Serial killer, "The Night Stalker," still on death row but soon to be executed._

_Lisa Montgomery, Missouri. "Fetus-Snatcher Murder," she murdered Bobbie Jo Stinnett then cut her unborn child from her womb. Sentenced to death in 2004. _Ran through Cali's head rapid fire.

All those people had done much worse than Merle.

_So much worse._

"Well?" Lori asked the man impatiently. Shane sighed, and put his hands on his hips.

"We talked it over, over and over again. When it all comes down to it, Shiloh's the one Merle wronged, so Shiloh's the one who gets to decide."

"Are you kidding me?" Cali flew up from her chair, hand against the table. "How is that fair?"

"How is that not?" Andrea countered. "Merle can't run this time. He screwed up. Big time."

"Look at the big picture here! If you kill Merle…do you even realize what that would do to Daryl-"

"Not all of us are fucking Daryl Cali! Some of us are actually looking out for the camp!" Andrea shot back, and Cali was in shock for a second.

The rest of the camp held their breath. The mothers glance over at their kids, who were staring wide eyed at the scene unfolding.

"I can't believe you. Really Andrea? _You_ of all people? You would sit there, as these siblings were torn apart? You yourself had to live through the pain of losing the only family you had left, and you'd so willingly wish that on someone else?"

"Let's take a deep breath here." Dale jumped up, and situated himself between the two women. "You've both crossed a line, now take a step back."

The women only glared at each other. And the rest of the camp sat in silence. Glenn tore his cap off, ran a hand through his hair, and grabbed Cali by the shoulder, and pulled he towards the other end of the kitchen. "Peace girl. You don't wanna screw around right now."

"This isn't right Glenn. Not at all."

"None of this is right. Welcome to the end of the world." Glenn smiled sadly at her.

She sat down next to her Asian, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Why can't anything be the same."

"Oh come on now, some things will stay the same."

"Give me one example."

"Well, when no one's looking, I'm going to go steal your bat, and knock Daryl's hick teeth out for leaving another mark on your neck."

Cali turned bright red…and thought back to her embarrassment, that she had buried at Camp Clueless…and how she wished it would stay there.

"Oh…uh…"

"But that's all I have to worry about. Because there's no way you screwed him in a church."

Silence.

"…Sinner."

"Fuck you Glenn."

* * *

><p>Daryl sat across from his brother's unconscious form, and frowned. They were both fucked. Completely and totally fucked. If that little French bitch chose death, then they were going to have to fucking run for their lives.<p>

Away from the shower of bullets and rage that would undoubtedly follow. And guilt. Can't fuckin' forget the guilt. This camp would crash and fuckin' burn without him. Daryl was vain, he was just a realist. They had been fine, until the one day he fuckin' left and they had a damn fish fry.

A fish fry.

They wouldn't last four days.

But he couldn't fuckin' stick around if they were planning to kill his brother, or if they killed him for that matter. They would only see him as more of an extension of Merle, and he would be treated that way. No respect on either side of that spectrum.

"Ya always look so fuckin' mad."

"Ya finally awake?"

"Don't be fuckin' pissed at me. Yer the asshole who knocked me th' fuck out." Merle had the audacity to laugh at him.

"Wouldn't have had tuh if ya hadn't been of fuckin' top a' Nia, now would I?"

"Calm th' fuck down. I wouldnda raped Lil Bird."

"Whut th' fuck is wrong wit ya? How the fuck did ya become some fuckin'…"

"Survivor?"

"Murder! Fuckin' rapist-"

"Maybe they never clued ya in, but those fuckers out there left me handcuffed tuh a fuckin' roof!"

"I fuckin' know! I came back for ya! And ya fuckin' stole our van!"

"How th' fuck was I supposed tuh know you was with them? Fer all I knew, ya were still in th' damn woods!"

"Well I fuckin' wasn't! Th' fuck happened tuh ya anyways?"

"Got out of the city, and went back home. Had just enough gas tuh get me there. Back home got it bad Daryl. But I caught that pretty nurse lady tha' had the hots fer ya hidin' in the clinic. I made her check out my hand, and I pretty much cleaned out tha' medicine cabinet. When my truck broke down, I met sum individuals wit the same…hobbies as mine. Joined up wit them, and been raidin' the shit out of all the places round here. Was jus' dumb luck I ran intuh you bastards."

"Ya couldn't fuckin' come back fer me?" Daryl asked, more pissed off then before.

"Figgured ya'd be alright. Ya had tha' girl anyways."

"Fuck ya talkin' bout?"

"Don't fuckin' bullshit me little brother." Merle gave him a smile that was contorted by the swollen lip and bruises on his face. "I can see the scratches on yer shoulder there."

Daryl looked down, and groaned, as he suddenly wished he owned a damn shirt with sleeves. The one he had on showed just the barest hint of the fucked up lines Nia had etched into his skin when she had been squirming underneath him.

"So, ya and Lil Bird huh?"

"Not really."

"Jus' a hook up then?"

"Not really tha' either."

"Then th' fuck is it?"

"I don't fuckin' know!"

"Well fuck, yer tha' retarded?"

"Think we got bigger problems here. Tha' damn French bitch gonna be fixin' tuh kill ya."

"Fuck! We need tuh get out a' here."

"Couldn't fuckin' agree more. Now, we jus' gotta figure out how we gonn' git th' fuck outa here."

* * *

><p>Shiloh sat upstairs, in the balcony that had become the closest thing she had to a home since this monstrosity had started. Her hair twisted free around her shoulders, and her bangs hung in her eyes. Eyes that hadn't stopped crying since she had seen Jonas lying there, twisted and broken.<p>

He was all she had left. All she had on this world to call her own. Her country had fallen, as had everyone she had ever loved. Now, she was trapped, in a world who's language she couldn't speak. She was, in a sense, useless.

She had never been useless. She worked hard to prevent that from ever being a label to describe her. She hated failure. Couldn't stand losing, and was addicted to coming out on top. That being said, she wasn't afraid to admit that she worked best on a team. That's what she and her _cher_ had been. A team. A damn good one too.

She wanted revenge. She wanted that damn mother fucker to die like he deserved to. She wanted him to bleed, and hurt, and groan and cry like he deserved to.

But, no matter what pain and horror she unleashed on this man, it didn't change the fact that Jonas was dead. And nothing, not matter what she did, was going to bring him back.

So she, the wronged, found herself in a moral debate herself.

She could kill the man, signifying revenge, and yet, justice at the same time.

Or she could let the man live.

When she really thought about it, she was going to die anyways. Her finger never hesitated on the trigger, and she knew it would be no different when the gun was trained on her head. But, she couldn't free her soul, until she figured out what to do with the killer.

The two men, cops, she believed, had given her complete control of that man's future. Power to end it, and the power to save it. She just wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet. What could she do?

Bring him to hell with her.

Leave him.

She was going to die either way.

So, why was this decision so hard? She couldn't seem to make a set one. Why not?

Maybe because it was considered an impossible choice. Or maybe, it was because she was scared to kill herself?

No, it was neither of those two options.

Suddenly, as the sun poured through the stain glassed window behind her, color flooding into the room and mocking her pain as it made the church look brilliant in the way only a holy glaze could look, the answer became apparent to her. It was obvious what she had to do.

She pulled her shaky body off the ground, and made her way to the door.

"_See baby, it's a church. Nothing can hurt us in a church! We have God on our side, and I've never heard a single story where the bad guys won in a church!"_

Shiloh shook her head. That's why she had fallen so hard for Jonas. He was so innocent. So naïve, and so willing to see the good in people. Even the bad people.

"Adieu mon amour. Que votre âme repose enfin. peut-être, un jour je vous reverrai." Shiloh smiled at the memories that lived in this church. In this very spot. Where Jonas would live forever more.

_Goodbye my love. may your soul rest finally. maybe, someday i will see you again._

Now, to take care of business.

Shiloh flicked the safety off, cocked the gun, and made her way towards the bathroom.

**Hehehehhe….it's gonna get good…I promise…what do you think's gonna happen! ;)**

**Thank yous!: **

**Talen667: Oh lord, Merle, Cali and Daryl stuck in a car together?…now that would be hilarious!**

**ROSESsecret: I know! Wasn't that video cool!**

**MyMissingHalo: Firstly, I want to thank you for reviewing my BDS fic! I'm partial to that one, because I put a lot of emotion into that fic, and I really liked how it turned out! And I'm glad my British guys turned out realistic! :D that's what I was going for! And I really liked your idea…just trying to figure out how to swing it!**

**TheSceneIsDead: Yes! Cali needs to break out singing 'I just had sex' or something xD she deserves it! She's only been waiting since forever!**

**Nelle07: Thanks so much! They love you too :]**

**Lucy Freebird: Oh yes, that's been in the making for a long long time!**

**Willow: Daryl did need that didn't he! Goodness! I'm glad you liked it ;] I love you too! Judas is fuckin' amazing! Maybe you could check out my new fic! I could sure use ideas as to what to Jesus and Judas got into that brawl over!**

**Willow The Collie: I KNOW! That video was amazing! And yes! I love Greek mythology ;] Eris was always screwing shit up for the other gods and the people, but she made things interesting! :DD and LOL your teacher would've been like "what is this…I don't even…" and I know you like Shiloh, so…try to not hate me! :DDD**

**UrWorstNightmare97: I'm glad you liked it! I figured that the chapter was so…serious, and it was weird to have them both be so focused. So I had to make Cali…well, Cali :] and hmmm…I honestly hadn't even thought of your idea until you posted it is! Things are changing now!**

**Green Eyed Faerie: LOL mine was like Hollywood. Maybe we didn't go to the same prom? Lol who knows? It'd be wicked cool if we did though!**

**And yes xD they did it in a church…because, honestly…I just couldn't resist! And I know :[ damn Daryl for being so loyal!**

**Constantlylost: and, you know, I think he will :] and AHHHHH JUDAS! **

**ChildlikeEmpress: I aim to please ;] and you make a great point. He doesn't really get to pick his family at this point. In fact, I rather love your idea! And the Judus fic is up! ;] hope you like it!**

**Viktorskrupmet: Oh Vick! That's brilliant! You know how much I love me some angst ;]**

**GingerGidget: Well! Tell your boyfriend to move, because you NEED to see that video! And thank you! :D**

**PlasticCandy: Bittersweet is my middle name. I can see this situation getting much worse before it gets better. But of course it would. It is Camp Clueless.**

**shadowsghosts: Lady Gaga is the greatest human being on the planet! That's all I have to say about that! And I honestly considered having Glenn walk in on them again, but I figured poor Glenn has been scarred by those two enough ;]**

**Kdk2013: YOU'RE BACK! :DDDDDDDDDD YAY! And beer on ass, still very hot. I loved that video! Enough to fic it up! :D**

**So thanks for all the reviews! Please review! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note!: I AM SO SO SO SO SO SORRY MY LITTLE ZOMBIES! :[[[[[[ I don't have an excuse…but I'll try.**

**Okay, Friday, I was kidnapped by my friends and dragged to their city to party until Saturday! Then on Saturday I had a job interview at the scariest fucking place I had ever seen! Then on Sunday….**

**BAYSIDE WAS IN TOWN! :DDDDDDDDDDDDD I HAD TO GO SEE THEM! THEY'RE THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE BIRTH TO CALI! AND YOU KNOW WHAT?**

**They were fucking amazing…I lost my voice…and I can't really feel anything anymore…sigh…it was worth it. **

**Once more: I am so sorry! Now I feel even worse! Not only do I make you wait, but when I do finally deliver, this is what I give you? Terrible.**

**You may all verbally punish me in a reivew :]**

**Love you! Eris!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD…do I really need to keep typing this?**

Chapter 8: I Can't Let It Bother Me, If Fact And Fate Just Can't Agree

Shiloh flicked the safety off her gun as she got closer to the bathroom. She knew what she wanted now, her moral dilemma put to rest and a solution plain as day in front of her face. She was actually relieved to have reached an end. It was exactly what she needed.

As she walked past the basement, she paused. What would they do with the bodies? Burn them probably, that's what she would do. It would be less tempting for the Walkers if they were nothing but ash. Yeah, they'd do that. It would work better that way.

She placed her hand on the sleek wood of the door. Her love was in his final resting place, and she couldn't bring herself to say goodbye again. But, she never had said goodbye, not to his face. She wasn't sure if she could.

Shiloh reached for the handle with a shaking hand, and took a deep breath. She was going to handle this. It was the least she could do.

The door opened with a creek, and she was instantly attacked with the smell of blood, tears and _La Mort_, Death. She took a step back, and covered her nose. Well, it wasn't as if she expected this to be easy. She made her way down the steps, and heard _laughing._

Freezing, Shiloh made herself silent. She ceased existing. There couldn't be laughing, that was impossible. There was just no way. No way at all! How could that be?

Then, there were voices. More then one.

They spoke in gnarled English, with thick accents that Shiloh had grown accustomed to when they had arrived in the South, but she couldn't make out a word of what they were saying. At the moment, however, it wasn't their words she was worried about, so much as the fact that she remembered the voices.

These were the other men. The followers of the killer tied up in the bathroom.

Shiloh turned and booked it back up the stairs, she had to warn the others.

Hopefully they understood a little French.

* * *

><p>Normally, the sound of tinkling glass wouldn't cause such a ruckus, but with their past experiences, Camp Clueless froze as the familiar plinking echoed through the somber building. They froze in their exact spots, like statues, trying to decided if it was worth investigating.<p>

There was silence, and they released a premature breath of relief as the sound seemed to roar through the church once more.

"Goddamnit!" Shane swore as he jumped up "The Dixons are makin' a run for it!"

"They wouldn't do that! Where would they go?" Rick argued, but grabbed his gun and hat anyways.

"We gotta cut them off." T-Dog agreed.

"What's the point?" Cali snarled from the floor she was still sitting on. "You all want them dead anyways, and if they run, then they sure as hell will die. So isn't this what you want? To be rid of the Dastardly Dixons?"

"Now ain't the time." Shane growled.

"Ain't never gonna be the time! Why get involved if you don't even want them to live? Just leave them alone if you've sentenced them to death."

Shane opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of a shot, loud and final echoed throughout the church.

_Merle?_ Cali jumped off the floor, but couldn't bring herself to run. Her body was frozen in fear. Please no, please. That was just…not possible.

The Camp stood in silence, them being just polite enough for them to not speak. A moment of silence for the fallen-

_Pop_

Now, Camp Clueless jumped. The woman gasped out loud, and the men tensed up. Dale swallowed hard. "Was that…a second shot?"

"Yeah." Rick answered.

"Did Shiloh…?"

"I don't know."

"Who got hit with the second shot?"

"Could've been D-"

"No." Cali interrupted the arguing amongst the campers. "It wasn't Daryl. Shiloh wouldn't do that."

"Well, who the hell else did she hit?"

"Herself?" Cali threw out. "Not like she's got much to live for."

"Won't know until we go see." Shane made way to the door as another shot rang out. People snapped into motion then, the men with guns grabbed them, and the children and their mothers were lead into a cry room, where they were told to stay.

During the commotion, Cali snuck away from the camp and ran for the bathroom. _Back to bargaining it seems. Please let them be okay. Let them be alive. Let them at least have gotten out okay. Let them be fine! I'll do whatever you want!…I'm sorry about the church thing…_

She reached the bathroom, and pushed the door open, and was met with the stares of the two Dixons. They each raised an eyebrow at her sudden appearance into their area. Cali, was shocked into silence. They were here?

"Th' hell's got ya all a'flutter there lil Bird?" Merle asked, sending her a sober smile. She only looked between the two of them.

"You…you're still here?"

"Yup."

"Then…who…?"

"Yer ramblin' Nia. Th' fuck you need?"

"We heard gunshots. Three of them. Didn't you?"

The two brothers looked at each other. "Nawh. These rooms don't pick up no noise unless it's in th' other bathroom."

"If it wasn't…you…then…?" Cali brain just was not computing right now. How did shots get fired without a gunman to shoot them? Shiloh wasn't stupid. She wouldn't blindly shoot.

Rick busted in then, and his eyes grazed across the bathroom rapid fire. "What the hell?"

"Seems tuh be th' word o' th' day." Merle snickered.

"Th' fuck? Why's everybody runnin' round like sum dumb headless chicken?"

"Shots…where did they-"

"Rick!" Shane stuck his head into the bathroom. "We heard two more shots man. There's something going on in the church." The Deputy eyed the two other men in the room. "And apparently it ain't Dixon related."

"Alright. We'll sweep the church." Rick eyed the three in the bathroom. "Cali, make sure they stay here?"

"Will do Wyatt Errp." She responded curtly. She wasn't exactly happy with how things had gone down lately, and right now, she just wanted to get out of the church. She was more than sick of this place.

"Good. Be careful." The Lawman fled the room, and left Cali alone with her beloved Great Red Necks. The awkwardness in the room was palpable.

"Christ I need a damn smoke." Daryl grumbled as he sat against the wall. Merle was still confined to his handicapped bar, and Cali was pacing the area, too keyed up to stay still. She was worried. Why couldn't they be worried? Normal people were worried!

"Feel like cutting me down lil Bird." Cali winced at the sound of his voice. She knew it was Merle, but all she could hear was the malice in his voice when he had grabbed her from the bathroom.

_Been lookin' all over for ya there, little miss black hair. Yer French ass ain't getting away from me this time._

Cali shuddered, which was perceived by the hunter. He saw everything, so of course he would've seen this. She had expected that. What she hadn't expected, was the obvious remorse that was buried within his blue eyes. It almost stopped her in her tracks, but she kept walking around the small area.

"Easy Nia." Daryl ordered from where he was sitting. "Ease it up."

"Trying."

"Try harder."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Then don' be stupid!"

"Asshole."

"Whore."

A smile spread across the hunter's face, as well as the girl's. A very fucked up thing. The two of them had a very fucked up thing.

* * *

><p>Their laughter was cruel. Crueler than Shiloh had ever imagined a human could be. Their laughter echoed off the walls, and danced across her blood puddles and pounded against her ears.<p>

Why did they come here?

"Come on little flower." The biggest man sneered as he swung his gun around in a dark tempo she'd only heard in nightmares and whispers in the dark.

Why did they come back?

"You ready to learn English?"

She was ready for them to just kill her already. That was all she wanted. Just pull the trigger and let it be done with. She was hurting, so incredibly bad. And all she wanted was to just take a deep breath, and let herself go. Please.

The big man knelt down to where Shiloh was sprawled out on the ground. Two holes in her body from where the bullets had ripped her open. He grabbed her hair and wretched her head up. He smiled at her appearance. Her eyes were streaming with tears, and her dark tresses were matted down with her blood, which dripped off her chin. "Well, aren't you pretty."

"Putain!" Shiloh snarled, her face dark with rage. She wouldn't go down without a fight. She couldn't just die lying down. What would Jonas think?

The butt of the gun was smashed against her teeth, and she regrettably felt one drop from her mouth. Her body started shaking, and she wanted it to end once more. Now. She wanted it to end.

"Sorry, but that just didn't sound nice. Coverin' my bases." The man laughed again, and cocked the gun. "Now, I need tuh go find the Lieutenant."

The gun was suddenly shoved into Shiloh's mouth, almost to the point of swallowing. She couldn't help it, and a sob escaped her mouth. The large man whispered soothingly at her. "No worries love, it'll all be over soon."

Shiloh closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, as the click of the trigger delivered her from life.

* * *

><p>Cali jumped as the next shot rang out. "Okay, did you guys hear that?"<p>

The question itself was redundant, of course they heard it. Daryl was the hunter and Merle obviously taught him everything they knew. They two men were staring at the same place, where they had decided the sound had radiated from.

"Sumthin' ain't right."

"No' at all."

"Prolly go check it out." Daryl sighed as he stood up. Cali blocked the door with her body.

"No way in hell."

"Move Nia."

"Need I remind you what happened the last time you wanted to 'check it out'?" She crossed her arms over her body. "You're not going out there."

"If it an actual problem…ya think they gonn' be able tuh handle themselves? They can't last five minutes without fuckin' something up."

"Let them try!"

"Ya want yer little Asian tuh get hurt?"

"You're not leaving." Cali put her foot down, in a way that reminded her too much of the way her mother controlled her father. Daryl scowled at her, and walked closer, where she was once again reminded that Daryl was bigger than her. Much bigger.

"Ya gonn' stop me?"

"Hell yeah."

"I could knock ya out like nothin'."

"But you won't." Cali answered in sing song. "You backwoods bastard."

"Ya think yer so smart."

"I am."

"Hey, luv birds!" Merle called. The two looked at the Pride of Atlanta. He jerked his head upwards at the ceiling, as blood started to drip from the ground into the bathroom.

"Oh my God…" Cali muttered, and her stomach rolled and her skin crawled. "Oh my God."

"Calm down." Daryl immediately. He knew when to stop the problem before it started. She locked her big brown eye on his.

"Something bad here. Something bad." She muttered, bringing her hands up to her face.

"Le' me go check it out."

"No." Her whispered was clipped, and her voice was scared. She wanted to grab him and make him stay, but she knew what would happen now. Daryl would walk out the door, and she'd have to stay here.

"I'll be righ' back."

"Yeah right." Cali tried to laugh, but it sounded pained. "Just like last time?"

"Well, let's jus' make this a lil better than last time yeah?"

"The promise me you'll be careful. Be smart. We don't know what's going on out there."

Daryl didn't say anything, he just held out his pinky. Cali gave him a watery smile, and locked her pinky with his. "I promise I'll be careful."

"You'd better be." She nodded, and stepped aside. Daryl grabbed the crossbow that was never far from himself, and he walked towards the door. Cali looked up and he shot her a small smirk. She stuck her tongue out, and he was out the door.

"Don' need tuh worry 'bout him." Merle smiled from where he was still confined.

"And how do you know that?"

"Cuz he's the toughest mother fucker I know. Daryl'd walk through shards of glass just fer pride. Ain't no way he'll break no promise. Daryl been through a lot. He got the scars and th' strength tuh show fer it."

"What about you?"

"I got scars lil Bird, but I sure as fuck didn't get no stronger from them."

* * *

><p>This was in no way Glenn's strong point. He preferred to be hidden in the shadows, scavenging, going through unnoticed. Now, creeping thorugh a church that held an enemy that was unknown, who's numbers were unknown and their firepower as well, he was terrified. And not afraid to admit it.<p>

Well, maybe not out loud. Everyone treated him like a child, when he was, in fact, not a child. He was just as capable and as strong as the rest of the survivors. Like Cali said, "I'm still alive aren't I?"

But he would rather be dead sometimes. Times like this he would rather be dead. He was scared, and the fear was almost worse than whatever was waiting for him behind every door. The grip on his gun wasn't confident, but it was reassuring. He didn't like the device, but he knew how to use it.

He closed his eyes, and tried to heighten his hearing. He wanted to know where to look, that way, he could avoid it. The survivors thought he was weak, but he wasn't. He had no problem taking down a Walker. But these were people, living people, and bad people or not, they still had a heartbeat.

He jumped when he heard movement in on the storage closets that were part of the upstairs of the church. He held his breath, and pushed the door open slightly.

He saw the body almost immediately, and he had to fight a very violent urge to throw up as he saw the brain matter splashed against a wall. Oh God, poor Shiloh.

There was the movement again, and Glenn's eyes shot over to the shadows, where he swore he saw movement. He made sure that it was loaded, and placed his finger on the trigger. Those fuckers blew Shiloh's head off. They were going to pay.

The figure emerged barely from the shadow, and Glenn relaxed as he saw the shine off the crossbow. It was just Daryl. Thank God. He wouldn't have to go all John Wayne in here after all.

Daryl made his way over to the body, and shuddered. Daryl fucking Dixon shuddered. Daryl turned around, and the sound of a gunshot echoed through the room once more.

Daryl dropped to his knees as he pressed a hand against his bleeding shoulder. "Fuck! Fuckin' shit!"

Glenn stared wided eyes as a monster of a man pulled out of the shadows, where he had been hidden completely. The man wore army greens and had dog tags and human teeth around his neck. His hair was cut to arm standards, and he had one big ass gun.

His eyes were also the same shade red as Merle's had so constantly been.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

Daryl stood up, and glared at the man. The man didn't say anything as he lifted the gun up again. Glenn mirrored his actions.

Yet another gunshot echoed through the church. Loud, and final.

**Man I love angst! ;)**

**Thank yous!:**

**GingerGidget: The man is just…sex. Plain and simple. And sometimes, sleeping with the enemy just doesn't play into your favor, as Cali is learning :]**

**Willow: Was that enough of a surprise? :] I hate predictable, and I hope this was at least a little different! And yes, Cali would definitely fuck that boy up. Not okay at all! And yes, if Reedus found me at church, I'd take what I could get. No doubts! But you're all still a bunch of pervs ;]**

**MyMissingHalo: I got a lot of response for that last chapter, so thank you :] hell, I might even have a sequel twisting around in my brain :] and I loved your foot stomping idea! You will probably be seeing that soon ;] **

**ChildlikeEmpress: Yes xD the kink is good. Ya'll are apparently very into the tree scene and the church scene. I vow right now to never have them screw in a bed. Don't wanna disappoint ;] I think Andrea is a secret bitch…so that's why she screwed Cali over. Because I think she would do it! And I know! Daryl can't name their relationship…but can anyone? Lol it's…different. That's for sure.**

**PlasticCandy: Bad luck is their only luck, very true fact! And I'm sorry that you hate cliff hangers, and I'm sorry that I left you with another one ;] Cali is in a constant state of dilemma. She's not exactly a…decisive person.**

**Talen667: Sorry about the cliffhanger(S). and you're so right! Daryl and Merle get blamed for EVERYTHING! They probably aren't even that bad! And I know, leather and Reedus…just amazing. So great!**

**Green Eyed Faerie: A healthy balance of weird and awesome :] and yeah, Cali has two big choices, she can be Cali, or she can be Nia. It's harder then hell! I haven't even decided yet. And there will be some…addressing of the….same bed buddy thing coming up!**

**Lucy Freebird: I'm against the death penalty too! (said the girl who has been brutally killing off characters and OCs left and right lol) but you're right. Andrea is a bitch, and I just love irony, so I had to throw that in there. It seemed…fitting…**

**Kdk2013: I love to make the readers feel interactive in this :] and I know! Judas was so hard to figure out. Thank God that I'm Catholic, little bit of background info for me there lol. **

**UrWorstNightmare97: Hey, a review is a review! :DD I love them all! And that's Cali! She's all…twisty!**

**ROSESsecret: It's the end of the world, and everyone's still judging each other. Oh Camp Clueless, you only get so many mistakes…**

**Willow the Collie: LOL Glenn knockin' out some teeth. :] that's what dreams are made of right there. An Asian and a baseball bat! And sorry for this! I know you like Shiloh…and I love your TWD fic! Minty is a ball of fun! :DD and good for Merle! He's got a stash of meds somewhere!**

**Nelle07: Thanks so much! ;]**

**Viktorskrumpit: I foresee a ballsy Glenn in season 2 :] he needs some street cred with the other campers! And yeah! What's wrong with a little diplomacy? Just because the world ended doesn't mean they behave like animals!**

**Taya: You're back! :DD it's fine, as long as you're reading! :]]**

**XXBXx: That's what she did ;]**

**MysteryPerson!: I'm glad you like Cali :]!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note!: Hey, back on schedule! :DD so here we go ya'll! The aftermath of the demons in the church, ahead you will see where loyalties lie, and shattering of bond, and well, Whiskey for more than one intended use. **

**And seeing as they should probably head out of the church…where do you want them to go? They can either hike up the Mountain and see what the snow has hidden underneath it, or they can soak up their last rays of sun on the beach! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT CAMP CLUELESS TO DO!**

**Oh, and anyone catch GaGa on SNL? :D how fuckin' good did she look! And Judas, how hot was that?**

**Spoiler alert!: Glenn might get lucky at one of them ;] (sorry Constantlylost, I know you think he's asexual ;] )**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD, but, fuck, who has the time to actually sue me for this? ;]**

Chapter 9!: If I Had A Gun And Shot It At Your Face Would You Promise Not To Get Out Of The Way

Rick growled, and hid behind the alter as people continued to shoot at him. It was a difficult situation, the men they were shooting at were high out of their minds, but they were still damn good shots. Their bullets were much too close for comfort, and Rick could only pray that things would end in their favor.

"Shit brother," Shane hissed from where they were hiding. "What do we do?"

"What are we dealing with?"

"Soldiers man, soldiers! What the fuck do we do?"

"Well, that explains why they're such damn good shots. What do we do?" Rick looked at Shane, and waited for the answer he really didn't want to hear at all.

"We kill the mother fuckers." Shane answered as he took aim and pulled the trigger, which felled one of the taller soldiers. Shane gave Rick a small smile. "One down, we a little bit safer."

Rick opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the voice of one of the attackers. "Man down!"

"Do not revive! We have only one objective! We need to find the Lieutenant!"

"Yes sir!"

"The Lieutenant?" Rick repeated to Shane as he reloaded his gun. "Who the fuck is that?"

"Come on man, I'll give ya three guesses."

Rick's eyes widened with realization. "Oh shit."

"That bastard!"

"How does he manage to cause problems for us, even when we get rid of him?

Rick took a breath, and shot a bullet towards one more soldier. "He's pissed off. What else did we expect?"

A bullet smashed the marble between the heads of the two police officers. Rick and Shane jumped, and ducked their heads lower.

"Shit."

"Amen brother."

X

Cali was resorting to pacing around once more, in that small area, and she was relatively sure that she was annoying Merle to death, but at this point (and the fact that The Pride Of Atlanta was complete contained) she couldn't care less. For some reason, the snoundproofness of the bathrooms had all of a sudden worn off or something of the like, because Cali could hear every gunshot.

There was a firefight going on out there, that was for sure. And she didn't even have her damn bat!

"Lil Bird, calm yer fuckin' ass down. Yer makin' me sick."

"You don't really get much a say in this." Cali spat. Merle just gave her a little smirk, and gestured towards the one confined hand with his stump.

"Jus' untie me, an' I'll go help them pigs fight off whatever's kickin' they ass."

"Three people have told me not to untie you, so you can bet your ass that I'm not going to untie you."

"Daryl woul'."

"You don't get to bring Daryl into this."

"An' why th' fuck not? He's my brother!"

"THAT'S WHY! HE'S YOUR BROTHER!" Cali's filter died immediately, and she turned on the Pride of Atlanta. "How could you do this to him?"

"How th' fuck was I supposed tuh know he'd be in th' damn church!"

"Not the church Merle! Why didn't you come back for him? Why didn't you return to the camp?"

"Why th' fuck would I have gone back? Those mother fuckers left me on tha' roof tuh die lil Bird! Why the hell would I have gone back?"

"He's your family! He was heartbroken! _He risked everything to go and get you back!_ And what do you do?…you steal the damn truck that he had come to rescue you in!"

"How th' fuck was I supposed tuh know tha' Daryl went to Atlanta with them bastards!"

"Why else would they go back?"

"Don' let them convince ya tha' they went back just fer me. They left a lot of shit in Atlanta, including some guns, so they ain't all go' hearts a' gold."

"Rick came _back _for his family, you know, and everyone else came back for their family. You left Daryl alone to fend off those pissed off mother fuckers! How the hell could you do it!"

Merle was silent, and Cali continued her pacing, hoping that her family wasn't losing this firefight. She couldn't handle losing another one. She refused to go to another funeral.

Cali still shook, facing Merle, and pissed off. Merle wasn't looking at her, now, he was looking behind her, and shaking his head. "What the hell is your problem Merle?"

"Jus' one thing here Lil' Bird. You tell Daryl, tha' I'll come back fer him."

"Merle, what the hell you talk-" A cold steel bar was smashed against her head before she could finish her sentence. She tried to stay awake, but all she could do was watch as Merle was lead out of the bathroom by a soldier, and a foot was brought down oh her side.

Then, she got a chance to sleep.

X

Daryl swiped his hand across his eyes, wiping the blood (and brains, who th' fuck was he kidding?) out of them, and he dared a glance. The man with the gun at his head was now a pile of steaming gore.

He tried to close his eyes, and calm down, but he couldn't do it. That man had gotten behind him. People didn't get fuckin' behind him! He hadn't been snuck up on in _years_. Merle and his Ol' fuckin' man, had taught him that lesson time and time again. But Daryl hadn't even fuckin' heard that guy _breathe_. How the fuck could that have happened!

"Daryl?" The hunter jumped at the voice, and tried to grab the crossbow, but was stopped by searing pain in his shoulder. Fuck, that really hurt. "You okay?"

"Been fuckin' better." Daryl answered, trying to pull himself off the ground. The fuckin' chink walked into the room, and swallowed as he took in the view of Shiloh's body, and the body of the man the chink had just killed.

"Oh fuck."

"Nice fuckin' shot." Daryl mumbled. He couldn't bring himself to say much more. He didn't even know how to begin to even try to thank the chink. Everything fuckin' hurt, and he couldn't move. Damn it why couldn't he move?

"Can you get up?" the kid asked as he got closer. Daryl nodded, but he couldn't seem to put the command into action. Fuck. He needed to get up. "Daryl? Do you need me to get Cali?"

No. No fuckin' way. He wasn't gonna freak Nia out like that. Dumb bitch would just flip the fuck out over nothing. "Naw. Don't bug Nia over this. She'd just flip th' fuck out. Kinda like yer doin."

The kid flinched, and looked down at his shaking hands. "Fuck. Fuck!"

"First kill?"

"Yeah." The kid frowned. The awkwardness of the situation was killing Daryl and Glenn both. Glenn wasn't used to being in charge, and Daryl couldn't fuckin' stand looking weak, especially not in front of this damn chink. "We, should uh, we should probably get out of here. Go see if they need help or not."

"Sure." Daryl nodded, and tried once more to pull himself off the floor, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. What the hell was wrong with him!

Well, shit. He knew what the fuck was wrong with him. He was fuckin' terrified. He wasn't going to admit that out loud, but what he honestly didn't understand, was why. He's brushed death on a daily basis, and he wasn't scared of the fuckin' zombies. Hell, this was his second time getting shot. So why the fuck was he so scared?

"Daryl? Do you need, you know, help?" The kid was practically mumbling at this point, and Daryl wasn't really sure he understood him.

"Whut."

"Do you want me to…?"

"I'm fuckin' fine!" Daryl snarled "Just leave me th' fuck alone!" and the Asian jumped almost six feet in the air. He turned to leave, then he whirled back on Daryl.

"You know what, no! I'm not going to leave you here! You're hurt, and in shock or some other shit, and Cali would kill me if she knew I left you up here! So I don't give much a fuck if you want to stay up here and lick your wounded pride. I'm dragging your ass to the RV if it kills me."

"If ya touch me, it fuckin' might."

"I don't like you. At all. But I love that girl, and she loves you."

"Fuck that." Daryl mumbled, not looking at the chink. He didn't need his help. He could get himself out of this mess. He didn't need the damn chink's help.

"You honestly don't get a say in it this time. Sorry." The chink spat as he walked over to the hunter and pulled him to his feet. The movement caused another torrent of blood to seep out of Daryl's bullet wound, and quite nearly brought the hunter to his knees in pain. The chink pulled away instantly and swore.

"Ya fuckin' idiot!" Daryl snarled through his clenched teeth.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that would happen! I'm not a hunter, I'm a fucking pizza boy!"

"Well back th' fuck off pizza boy! Tha's my fuckin' arm!"

"What do I do?"

"Leave. Me. Th'. Fuck. Alone!" Daryl snarled once more as the pain overtook him. Glenn winced.

"I don't know if there's more of those soldiers up here or not. I don't wanna leave you alone up here. Rick and company will count you for dead."

"I'll make my own way down there."

"If I go down there, and you're not with me, Cali will be hauling ass up here."

The two men were locked in a standstill. Daryl half didn't give a fuck that Cali would come running around, he was in too much fucking pain to care. Other half told him to calm the fuck down and just go down the damn stairs with the chink. He couldn't really move without the help anyway.

"I'll be down in a few minutes. Jus' gotta figure sumthin' out." Daryl mumbled his response, shivering. When had it gotten so fucking cold?

Glenn was looking at him with critical eyes, then the slants went wide. "Oh shit, blood loss! You're bleeding out too!"

"No fuckin' shit."

"No! I couldn't tell how bad this was, but check out your shoulder, I think that darker shit is yours!" The Chinaman was legitimately freaking out now, and Daryl was fucked.

"Ya gotta shut th' fuck up fer ten minutes!" Daryl commanded him. "Listen tuh me very fuckin' carefully! I'll be fuckin' fine, now damnit, get th' fuck out of here!"

"But…" The chink bit his lip, then his eyes lit up. "Wait, I'll be right back okay! Stay here, and uh, I don't know, add pressure to the gun shot!" He ran out of the room, and left Daryl there.

Daryl tried to get up once more, but he was stopped by the pain once more, this time it threw him on his back. This was the most helpless he had felt since…fuck…since Merle had left.

He was fucking cold, and holding his hand over the bullet hole didn't seem to be doing the trick.

Where the hell was that chink?

Would Merle think he pussied out this way?

How fucking pissed would Nia be?

X

"California? Are you alright dear?" Dale's soothing voice pulled Cali back from her state of unconsciousness.

"Oh shit." She moaned as Dale helped her sit up. "Dale? What happened?" She drug her eye around the bathroom. "Where'd Merle go?"

"Seems we got a few visits from our soldiers. Seems Merle found himself a group of children soldiers for him to order around. There's a suspicion about if they were high or not. We're going to say yes. But they came and, well, liberated their leader, so to speak."

"He left?" she asked, gingerly touching her ribs. Ow.

"He's gone. And he left quite the trail of destruction in his path." Dale sighed as he helped Cali to her feet. "We've chased them away to the best of our ability, and we've packed up all the food in the church. We need to get going."

"Anyone else hurt?" Cali asked.

"Well, sort of. Shiloh was killed. Six of the soldiers were also killed."

"Oh God, poor Shiloh."

"And dear, there's something you should know."

"Well that's never a good start." Cali mumbled as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. _Would you look at that, a brand new shiner. I'm going to bind before I die._

"We need to talk."

"So they send you, Peacekeeper?" Cali asked, narrowing her eyes. Dale nodded solemnly.

"They figured you'd need a little heads up, so that's what I want to do for you."

"You're freaking me out Dale…" Cali crossed her arms, body tense. Dale wasn't trying to stretch this out, she knew that, but it suddenly felt like every part of her body was drowning in cement, waiting for a reprieve from the wonderment.

"I'm sorry California, just trying to figure out how to word this."

"I'm a fan of the 'ripping off the band aid' technique."

"Well, Daryl got hurt. He got hurt bad."

"Oh my God." Cali's breath caught in her throat.

"Well just breathe California! I'm not finished yet!"

"Is he okay? Please! Is he okay! Tell me that. Please tell me he's okay!"

"California, right now, it's difficult to say."

"Band aid Dale!"

"It's touch and go! Depends on what Shane and Rick can do."

"It's…it's that bad?"

"Yes, it is. I'm really sorry California."

**Whoo! I'm really not sure how I feel about this, but it was one of those chapters that were needed. You know? Filler.**

**Hope you liked it anyways!**

**Thank yous!:**

**Willow: Not going to lie, you scared the shit out of me…lol. I'm glad I'm still able to pull out a surprise every now and then! :]**

**XXBXx: Hope the update was quick enough! :]**

**Lucy Freebird: I'm so glad you like it! :DDD it made me so happy to read your review love! And I hope the rest of these live up to your expectations! :DDD**

**Constantlylost: I would never abandon you! Ever! And lol, that is the greatest video ever :]**

**Viktorskrumpit: Yeah, I figured that Shiloh's death had to be gruesome enough that even the people who weren't fans would feel bad :] and yeah, the three of them make one really white trash family don't they! And as for the use of putain…lol it's really the only French I know ;] Yo hablo Espanol!**

**ROSESsecret: Define big ;] I feel like I torture Cali a little bit, but, ya'll seem to really like it. **

**Kdk2013: I'm glad you liked that quote! It was one of my personal favorites! :]**

**Talen667: I love their pinky promise thing too! It's my favorite part of their relationship!**

**MissDawes: Damn, that would have been a great way to redeem Merle, but he'll have his redemption later.**

**ChildlikeEmpress: I don't think I could kill Glenn xD and their little fucked up thing makes me feel better about my lovelife ;]**

**PlasticCandy: I would absolutely love to have you UPDATE! DAMN IT WOMAN YOU'RE A TEASE!…and yeah, it is kind of hard to stand up for Merle (and getting harder still…) but damn it, she'll try.**

**MyMissingHalo: Valid point! The begging does seem to work for Cali, and I see no shame in her doing it! It's not like she's begging out loud! And I'm sorry about the cliffhangers, they're just so fun! :D plus, it usually has ya'll flocking to review to tell me how much I piss you off ;] and Bayside only made me reinforce Cali's character, in fact, it might be time for her to grow a little bit!**

**Amanda: I really just didn't think I'd be able to kill, or even hurt Glenn! That'd be some seriously bad karma!**

**Nelle07: I'm glad you love this story! :DD**

**AlexOpossum: I do love my cliffhangers ;] so so much! And pieces…they'll get out in pieces!**

**Amie Knight: They are too damn cool!**

**AtlasOrion: That was the sweetest thing I have ever read! Thank you so much! And I'm currently working my way through your story! I love your OC ;]**

**Thanks guys! And remember, do you want them to go to the beach, or the mountains! Let me know in a review! :]**

**Love you all! Eris!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note!: Sorry guys, I meant to get this out a little sooner, but well, I kind of got distracted, by a boy…funny thing is, his name's Hunter ;] and our first date was watching TWD, which he loved! Does that make him a keeper? Yes, yes it does ;]**

**Sorry, I know ya'll probably don't give much a fuck, but I love talking to you guys! :DD and I gotta say, it was the best first date ever! What was yours? **

**Anyways…ya'll got pissed… xD sorry, I like to torture Reedus' characters! Anyone who's read my Boondock Saints fic can attest to that!**

**Oh, and the song Cali starting losing her mind to at the end, is Landing Feet First, the song that inspired this fic! Show Bayside some love!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD! Or Landing Feet First by Bayside!**

Chapter 10!: If The Sun Don't Shine Tomorrow, We'll Survive

She was a damn coward. And she hated herself for it.

Cali winced as Lori pressed a hand against her side. The Mother chewed her lip as she felt around. "I'm no doctor sugar, but I think you're okay. They're not broken." Cali only nodded in response, and bowed her head.

She was in Dale's RV, up on the tiny counter as Lori continued checking her out. And while Cali was relieved to be out of that church, she was terrified to be in the RV as well. Daryl was just down the hall, and she couldn't bring herself to go see him.

She was too damn scared.

When they had first gotten Cali into the mobile home, Carol had immediately offered her the job of clearing away the blood so Rick and Shane could try and remove the bullet. Cali had only been able to shake her head in response, which seemed to shock everyone around her. But she didn't much care at the moment.

After that, no one seemed to want to talk with her about it, and she didn't really feel like talking. Her body was in agony, and she felt as if she had lost her mind completely. She was just there. Everything and everyone around her sounded as if it were underwater, and she couldn't make anything clear. She was swimming in silence.

Glenn came in then, and the women stopped what they were doing. He pulled off his hat, and ran a hand through his hair. "Hokay, here's what we know. We cleared the church of the soldiers, but there's about five bodies in that church. Rick and Shane are just going to torch the place. We've already loaded up most of the supplies in Daryl's truck and Shane's jeep. So we'll have food for a while it looks like."

"Won't the Walkers see the fire?" Carol asked.

"Probably, but we'll be gone before they can really group up and cause some damage. And Rick refused to leave Shiloh and Jonas as their next meal."

"Where exactly do they want to go?" Andrea spoke up from the table she was sitting at, staring at the church.

"We're still working on that."

"We don't really have the gas to go anywhere." Dale sighed at the dashboard reading.

"Actually, we do. We kind of have a silver lining in all of this. See, those people that attacked us, we took out enough that they couldn't leave with as many cars as they brought. They left a fuel truck. We've got about 5 tons of gas now." Glenn offered a small smile to the group. "So, Shane's gonna fill everything up, and T-Dog, they need you to drive Daryl's truck, since he's…" he paused, not really sure what to do about the situation. Not like Dixon was dead, but not like he was really okay either.

Cali just sat with her head bowed on the counter, refusing to make eye contact. She just wanted to curl into a little ball and pretend none of this was real. She wasn't okay, but none of them were. She needed a rock, not a buoy. She needed stability, not a shaking foundation.

She needed her hunter. More than she realized.

Rick and Shane entered the area now, and Rick began to wash his hands. Shane began rummaging through a first aid box he'd found in the church. "Carol!"

"Yes?"

"How is he?"

"He hasn't woken up yet!" Carol called from the back of the RV. "But I've cleaned the area the best I could, and the bleeding's almost stopped!"

"Good." Rick finished washing his hands and Shane started. "We're gonna pull out that bullet and stitch him up the best we can."

"Can you operate on the move?" Lori asked skeptically. "We can't stick around here much longer."

"Where do we go?" Shane threw out. "Don't exactly have anywhere to go. The mountains?"

"Don't think it's a good idea to drag that boy back there through the cold with a wounded shoulder. Might make healing harder." Andrea mumbled.

"What do you suggest then doc?" Dale asked. Andrea shrugged.

"I think we should go to the coast."

"The coast?"

"Yeah. I mean, that way, we wouldn't be surrounded completely by Walkers. They can't swim. And the coast will stay warmest the longest. We don't have much summer left. Might as well milk it as long as we can."

The RV grew silent as they considered this option. They probably could use the natural defense of the water. Maybe they could steal a boat and head out to an island. Once they cleared the island of Walkers, ideally, they could be protected. Trips for supplies, maybe even try to grow their own. Things could probably get better for them.

"Where exactly did you have in mind?" Shane asked as Rick made his way to the back of the RV.

"Maybe St. Simons?"

"That place is a tourist trap! It'll be filled to the brim with Walkers." Lori shook her head.

"Would it?" Glenn asked. "They would've run out of food at some point, might have been stupid enough to walk into the water. Maybe it'd be a good idea to at least check it out. Maybe one or two people, just to scout it out."

"It takes about five hours to get there though." Dale sighed. "That's a long of time, and a lot of gas on just a hunch."

"The CDC was just a hunch. Ft. Benning is just a hunch too." Andrea argued. "And we know for a fact that there's no Walkers in the ocean. And we know that there's other small island around St. Simons. It's a little bit stronger than just a hunch."

There was silence again as everyone thought over the options. Finally, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves while he did it, Shane spoke. "Might as well. Besides, they have warehouses along those docks. Might as well see what we'll be able to salvage from those."

"So, set courses for St. Simons?" Dale asked.

"That's what it's starting to sound like." Shane answered, as Glenn lit the church on fire outside of the window.

Cali finally lifted her head to watch the building burn. 'A means to an end' if there ever was one.

* * *

><p>The silence in the RV was just brutal. Lori and Carol sat with their kids at the table, playing cards without really speaking. Dale drove, and Cali and Glenn sat on the bench near the window. Complete silence. T-Dog was driving the Daryl's truck, Andrea was driving the fuel truck, and Shane had his jeep. They had taken off after they had gotten the bullet out of Daryl's shoulder, and now Rick said he could cover the cleaning up process. But, since he wasn't a doctor, he wasn't really sure if there would be lasting damage for the hunter. He could only hope he'd be okay.<p>

Remembering his own gunshot wound, Rick was very worried. He'd gone into a coma, what if Daryl did the same? Except, the redneck didn't have any machines or doctors or medicine to keep him alive.

Rick pulled the final stitch, and tied a knot. Fuck if he knew if he did this right, but hoped that he did. It might scar, but it was better than an infection that no one knew how to treat.

Dixon's color looked okay, but hell, who knew if it was. They were gonna have to depend on straight luck to get him out of this, and that might be the part that worried Rick the most. They weren't exactly living on luck with this group.

Not even close.

Rick pulled off his gloves, and tossed them into the small trashcan by the bed. It brought a smile to his face, of course Dale had a trashcan. It was just very human.

He walked back out into the silent group of people, and they all looked up with questioning eyes. All but the black haired girl. Cali's head hung low, and her body screamed defeat. Rick could see it in her eyes, she had already said goodbye. A defense mechanism. Expect the worse.

"He's still breathing, and the bullet's out. So I call that a success." Rick yawned as he washed his hands. He slid into the seat next to his wife, and they dealt him a hand. He grabbed his cards, and glanced over at the younger members of his family. "Hey Cali."

The girl didn't move.

"You can go see him if you want."

Still nothing.

"Couldn't hurt."

Cali didn't even move. Rick shook his head, and switched out a card for another one. He wasn't comfortable with the girl's reactions, or lack thereof.

She was going to become a time bomb, and possibly a problem.

Rick dropped the King of Hearts, and pulled another card.

He got the Ace of Spades.

He bit his lip, and tried to ignore the symbolism.

* * *

><p>It took forever for them to fall asleep. It pissed Cali off. They wouldn't fall asleep. Dale focused on the road for the most of it, and finally, the children fell asleep with their parents not far behind. It was Glenn she was waiting on.<p>

But she had a feeling the Asian wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon. Glenn had a really shitty day. He killed a man, then had to deal with a shocked, hurt redneck. Then, they had him burn the church down. Glenn probably wouldn't sleep well for weeks. She could relate. Her pills had gone up in flames along with Shiloh and Jonas.

"Hey Cali." he mumbled. She barely moved her eyes towards him. "You need to go see him."

She shook her head.

"Why the hell not?"

Just some silence. Lots of silence.

"Goddamn it Cali, you need to go back there!"

"Why?" She mumbled.

"Because I killed another human to make sure he didn't die! I had to deal with his shit, and I had to pull him out of that damned church! You know why? Because I know how much he means to you! So you can't fucking sit there and tell me that you can't see him! Why the fuck can't you see him?"

"Because!"

"Give me one good fucking reason!"

"Because, he'd not supposed to be the broken one! I've never seen Daryl hurt! Nonetheless broken, and something that I never thought I'd have to see! He's really hurt! He might not pull through-"

"Then it's probably a good fucking idea if you went and talked to him! Come on Cali! Come one!"

Cali's eyes were wide as plates, and her jaw was on the ground. When had Glenn gotten balls? Balls of fucking steel at that!

"Glenn…"

"Just fucking go!" He growled, and pointed towards the back of the RV. Cali jumped up and started walking back towards Daryl. Glenn sat back down on the bench, with a smug little look on his face.

"Wow."

Glenn jumped at Rick's voice, and saw the entire group of people staring at him. "Uh…"

"Mama, Glenn said the F word!" Carl's eyes were even bigger than Cali's.

"I-uh-I-"

"Oh, we heard him." Lori's eyes were on fire.

"Would you, uh, would you believe that I said…'fudge'?"

"You are in sooooo much trouble." Carl smirked.

"Cali was right." Glenn smirked back. "You are evil."

* * *

><p>Cali chewed her lip as she stood outside of the door. Daryl was sprawled out on the bed, with a group of bandages strewn across the area where the bullet had fucked them all over. There was pain etched into his face, and Cali thought she might throw up. He just looked so…broken.<p>

Daryl had always sort of been sub-human. He'd sealed off whatever emotions held him down, that way, he could focus solely on survival. He was built to survive. He'd never been broken, except for maybe thirty seconds when Merle had been left, but he'd sealed himself off, and become a rock once more. Now, he was just broken.

"H-hey." She mumbled. There was just silence. "Oh yeah. This silence thing does suck, doesn't it. Maybe I shouldn't have ignored the entire camp, huh. That probably pissed them off. I see why they yelled at me now."

She walked into the room, but leaned against the wall. "I'm really not sure what I'm supposed to do. I feel like I'm talking to a grave or something! This is awkward. I'm really not sure how I'm supposed to do this. I wish I knew what I was supposed to do."

She was terrified, and tired, and broken.

So tired.

Cali slowly made her way over to bed, and sat down on it, being very careful not to disturb Daryl in the slightest. She'd probably end up hurting him. She was tired, and she needed to sleep. She needed sleep, and she was going to have to embarrass herself to do it.

_If our world falls down tomorrow_

_You be sure I'll be there with a net_

_To catch the pieces falling_

_And I was always there_

_And I was always there_

_I was always there but you just_

_never knew where_

She didn't know why she picked that song, it just seemed to fit her mood. Actually, in the dark corners of her mind where she hid the truth that she wasn't ready to face, she'd own up to the fact that the song reminded her of Daryl. The way he acted towards the camp. They way that he took care of them even when he didn't have to.

_Ay oh, ay oh, I hope you weren't waiting long_

_I hope this night makes up for time lost_

_Ay oh, ay oh, feels like I met you years ago_

_And we're picking up right where we left off_

What if he didn't wake up? People didn't wake up sometimes, and she was terrified that would happen. She couldn't lose Daryl. She just couldn't. She'd lost too much already.

_I've considered what it be like _

_if the ocean poured in_

_From both of the coasts_

_And we set sail to find out_

_Just where our boat would go_

She couldn't let Daryl die! She couldn't! Holy shit, Merle would be coming back for him, that's what he told Cali. So, if Daryl died…Merle would kill her. Merle would totally kill her. Damn, Daryl, he needed to wake up.

She reached down and grabbed his hand, intertwining her fingers with Daryl's. He's probably be pissed she was making him to do this pussy ass shit. Hopefully, he'd wake up and yell at her.

_But I don't think that I'd want to know_

_Cuz it would just make time_

_So I could see your smile_

_With our brand new life in tow_

She couldn't believe she had gotten through this much of a song. Usually, it wouldn't take this long for the little trick to work. She should be asleep by now. She squeezed Daryl's hand, and had to resist the massive urge to cry.

_Ay oh, ay oh, I hope you weren't waiting long_

_I hope this night makes up for time lost_

_Ay oh, ay oh, feels like I met you years ago_

_And we're picking up right where we left off_

Finally, she felt the exhaustion hit her like a semi-truck, it crashed through her body and tore through the muscles and shattered the bones. Carefully, she managed to lay down on the bed next to Daryl, and listened to his shuttered breathing.

_And if I'm on the road _

_For another thousand years or so_

_I hope you know a part of me is at home_

_And I traded brick for straw _

_in the house I built around my heart_

_So when you came it wouldn't be so tough_

_No "huff and puff" could dismantle us_

_No "huff and puff" could dismantle us_

Suicide had never really appealed to her, it was like Wade's videogames had called it. "Coward's Way Out", and she had never considered herself a coward. But that was before the entire Walker invasion. Now, she wasn't even remotely near the same person she had been. Death changes people, all people. Who the fuck was she now? That she could be blown over like a house of cards, and float away in the wind, parts of her scattered everywhere. She was dead anyways. Just like the Walkers. She was just stumbling around, without a purpose. She was just as dead as they were. The only difference, was that she could still feel pain. Those Geek bastards didn't feel anything anymore.

_Ay oh, ay oh, I hope you weren't waiting long_

_I hope this night makes up for time lost_

_Ay oh, ay oh, feels like I met you years ago_

_And we're picking up right where we left off_

The tears started leaking out of the corners of her eyes now, and the sleep was begging to claim her, but she kept fighting it. She didn't want to sleep, not the way she was. Not with what would haunt her in her dreams. Jonas' dead body, Merle on top of her, that man who slammed the pipe into her head. Everything that had happened so far. And the worst of it, her bloodstained bracelets.

She sniffed once, and the body next to her twitched. Cali looked over at Daryl, but his eyes weren't opened, actually, he looked the same. _Way to get your fucking hopes up. Idiot._ She growled at herself as more tears filled her eyes.

The fingers intertwined with hers twitch, and a low gravelly chuckle followed. "Ya got th' gayest fuckin' music I ever heard Nia."

**Thank yous!:**

**xXBXx: Merle is such a dick!**

**ROSESsecret: I plan to torture her more! And I have plans for Glenn ;] assuming he can swim!**

**Amanda: I'm really into hurt characters too! And I had to hurt Daryl, because, well, Daryl never gets hurt! It's not in his character!**

**PlasticCandy: I'm glad you liked the chapter title! It's a Bayside song, all the chapter titles are actually! And Merle has his reasons…you'll see ;] and you're the worst kind of tease! There was NO update from you! None!**

**MyMissingHalo: My God woman, I love your reviews! They make me smile like a fool! And yes, the begging is amazing :]] and I gave you guys a less bitchy cliffhanger this time, I figured it was about time! Glenn is a sweetie, and his heart is in the right place, but I have someone else who can take his love off Cali. Because Glenn deserves to be happy too.**

**Miss Dawes: I couldn't kill Daryl! No one would read it if I killed Daryl! And lol, Daryl will be making that comment now!**

**Constantlylost: I laughed my ass off at that sketch! And the one with the old guy doing the news! Classic! And well, before I proved you wrong, I'll throw a disclaimer in so you won't have to be scarred by some Glenn lovin'! ;]**

**Lucy Freebird: I really can't kill Daryl lol. I don't have Glenn's balls! And there should be a bromance there! Without it being slash too. Boy, wouldn't Cali get a heart attack from that!**

**Willow: You're right, I love that man too much to kill him! And not punish so much as…test his will! And Merle is a jerk, but not a complete jerk, he's just…messed up. I'm glad you enjoy it!**

**AFireflyOpossum: They'll get as far as they fucking can from that church! And they'll be gong somewhere warm! And I just like to torture Reedus' characters! It's a habit! I'm sorry!**

**ChildlikeEmpress: Lol you and Cali can have a real panic attack later ;] bring some whiskey, she loves that shit!**

**Viktorskrumpet: Oh yes, the Pride of Atlanta is losing fans left and right for his little stunt, that much is for sure! And keeping Daryl a bad ass, but a little bit scared was hard! I'm glad I managed to pull that through! And Glenn, is a non-pussy pizza boy! And the nursing thing, that's not a bad idea at all! What man isn't into that?**

**GingerGidget: We'll have to see how that arm thing plays out I guess!**

**Nikitafan-10: Hey! A new face! Welcome! :D and I'll have him live, but I can't guarantee that their relationship will get fixed, after all, you've seen them. They're a little bit dysfunctional! :D hope to see you around!**

**Jac Danvers: Thanks for letting me know that you're there! :DD and they are the most dysfunctional group of people I have ever met!**

**Nelle07: Yeah, but Dale sure tries! He's just the poor old man! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Yay! Long update! Let's see a little bit of a Rad Bromance between Misters Daryl and Glenn shall we? :D and I loved your guys' first date stories, they all sounded super fun!**

**I am pleased to tell you that my TWD first date boy is now my boyfrien! ;D he kinda looks like Reedus. X) I did good!**

**Now onward, to so very awkward situations!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD!**

_Chapter 11: My Good Intentions Just Keep Sliding By The Wayside, But It's High Tide And They Get Washed Away With Time._

Glenn was mad. No, mad wasn't the right word for it. He was infuriated, enraged, furious, seething. He was just plain fucking mad. And he really couldn't figure out why. No one had done anything, said anything, hell they were all still sleeping. He just couldn't figure out why he was so incredibly angry. The only thing he really knew was that he was going to explode if he didn't find an outlet soon.

Not that there was one.

The easiest thing to do would be to yell the anger away. But how was he supposed to do that? He wasn't about to start yelling at the kids, or the women. Rick would probably let him take his anger out, but he'd feel awful about it later. He couldn't yell at Cali, because it would probably break her. He'd never seen the girl so absolutely shattered before. Even with everything that had happened at the quarry, he'd never worried too much. She'd still had that little glint in her eyes that she got when she was mad, happy, drunk. It was just always there, kind of like proof she was alive almost. And when he'd sent her back there, he hadn't seen it. She had given up completely.

Well, all of survivors had given up at some point. Everyone had their breaking point; it was only a matter of time before Cali took her turn up to bat. The women had their breakdowns early in the game, along with the kids. The men took turns with their breakdowns. Either shaking uncontrollably, or full on crying. They had all had their turns.

Now, Glenn wondered how long it would be before he had his breakdown. He'd had mini ones, maybe. But they weren't really breakdowns. If anything, they were him actually reacting to what was happening, rather then sealing his feelings off. Glenn was probably the most mentally and emotionally stable human being in his group.

Then again, that had been before. Before he had ever seen a body stabbed to death, before he had seen someone he loved covered in blood that wasn't theirs. Before he had seen a body with it's head blown off.

Before he had blown someone's head off.

A fresh wave of anger and nausea passed through Glenn, as he resisted the urge to scream and throw up. He had never killed another person before. Walkers, sure. Glenn could take down Walkers all day. They weren't people anymore. They were just creatures. Mistakes. And he saw it as his way of saving them from their horrid existence. It was technically a favor.

But Corporal Evans, he hadn't been a Walker. He could feel the cold metal of the dog tags against his skin. He felt kind of like a looter, but he needed to carry something from that man with him, so that his memory wouldn't burn out in the church with his body. So when he had gone through for his second check, after getting Daryl out, he'd taken the dog tags. He just needed something to remember that man by. As if he wasn't tortured enough.

He stood up, and ignored the looks of the rest of the travelers. He was going to go talk to Cali, because he needed to be cheered up, and she was the only one who wouldn't bullshit him. She'd give it to him straight at least, providing she'd be up to it. He wasn't exactly sure how she was holding up yet.

* * *

><p>He leaned against the door, observing for a few seconds. Cali knelt on the ground by the bed, Daryl's hand in hers, and her forehead resting on her crossed arms. It looked like the least comfortable position she could've possibly ended up in.<p>

"Cali?" He whispered, and she lifted her head up, and smiled at him.

"Hey. How're you holding up?"

"I just am."

"We all are." She stretched out her free arm, and a symphony of pops and cracks cascaded down her spine. The discomfort was palpable. "Wanna talk about it?"

Now that he actually had someone who wanted to talk about it, he didn't want to. He wasn't ready to admit what he did. "Nah. I'm actually here to relieve you. It's been three hours Cali, I think you should go catch some sleep."

"Three hours huh?" She frowned and looked at the body on the bed. "And you're taking over?"

"Yeah."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah Cali. Take a nap or something. Or get some food."

"Uh, alright. But do you really wanna sit here with Daryl?"

"Yeah. Go grab some food and some sleep. You look like a mess." He gave her a smile, and she nodded. She untangled their mess of fingers and stumbled out towards where the food was.

Glenn leaned against the wall, unable to stare at the slumbering form of the hunter. It was weird, having actually saved this man's life. The idea of it terrified him. Their prior relationship, the one where Daryl didn't bother with him and Glenn avoided Daryl, that's what he wanted. It was easier that way. Why couldn't it stay easy like that?

Well, because this was the era of the Walkers, and that meant nothing would ever be easy. Nothing would ever be the way it was supposed to again. Glenn was getting to sick of that shit.

"I wish I was a little more like you." Glenn mumbled. "Somehow, you can just shut off every damn emotion you have. Lucky bastard."

"Nawh. I'm a fucked up bastard." Daryl groaned from the bed. Glenn jumped, and glared.

"Shit! What the hell?

"Yer kinda jumpy."

"Shouldn't you be in like a coma or something?"

"Woke up when I felt Nia tuggin' on my hand. Th' fuck are ya doin' back here?"

"I gave her a break! Didn't know you were going to pop up to life!"

"Happens." Daryl groaned, and tried to sit himself up, only to freeze in pain halfway through the maneuver. Glenn reached a hand out.

"Need help?"

"If ya plan tuh keep jackin' off with that hand, you'll get it th' fuck away from me." Daryl snarled and Glenn withdrew his hand immediately.

"Sorry."

"Eh." Daryl pushed himself up, through the pain. He leaned against the wall, and eyed Glenn suspiciously. "Uh, whut happened?"

"Sorry?"

Daryl scowled and looked towards the window. "At th' church. What happened after I blacked out."

"Oh." Glenn rubbed the back of his head. "Nothing good man. Nothing good at all."

"Well, how the fuck did I get from dyin' upstairs tuh here?"

"Oh, well…uh…I got you out? Yeah. I went and found Rick, and he told me to get you out. So I went back and I drug you down the stairs, and I left you with Dale and Carol. You'd have to ask Cali what happened next. I was on church duty."

"Fuck." Daryl ran a hand through his hair. "What happened to the building?"

"Burnt it, and everyone left in it to the ground. Couldn't let Shiloh and Jonas go like that. Not as Walker food. So we torched everything." Glenn explained. The hunter only nodded his response.

"An' Merle?"

"You'd have to ask Cali, she's the only one who knows what happened to him."

"An' where we goin'?"

"Coast. They got it in their heads that the water might serves as some natural defense kind of thing. They hope to find an island or something."

"Alrigh'" Daryl nodded, indicating that he was indeed done talking. Glenn would've loved to indulge him, but something was bothering him. Something that had been there for a while now.

"You've been shot before?" The words poured out of his mouth before he could stop them. Daryl looked at him, confused.

"Who th' fuck told ya that?"

"You did. When I was dragging you out. You said 'I don't remember it hurtin' this bad.' I asked what you meant, but you blacked out around then." Glenn swallowed. "So, you've been shot before?"

"Yeah." Daryl mumbled. The topic obviously made him uncomfortable, but Glenn just couldn't stop. He couldn't.

"What happened?"

"Shot in th' back." Daryl had no idea why he was talking about this, especially with the fuckin' chink. The chink who slept with Nia. But this mother fucker saved his fucking life. He had to do something.

"Some Daisy Duke's daddy not like you or something?" Glenn asked before he could stop himself. Daryl glared at the chink.

"Ya wanna fuckin' know or what?"

"You'd actually tell me?"

"Ya kinda saved my life, so I figured I owed ya some shit." Daryl muttered the words, gratitude tasted bitter in his mouth, and it was only made worse by the fact it was the chink.

"Wow, I can't believe it."

"Ya know, I ain't telling ya shit if ya make this all gay ass. Get it?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll listen." Glenn promised. "What happened?"

"Happened when I was twenty. Overseas." Daryl mumbled. Glenn almost dropped his jaw in shock.

"Like…?"

"Army. Yeah. It's kinda a' required thing in my town. Ya get out of school, and ya sign up. In my family, it was mandatory. My Ol' Man, Merle, and me. We did what we had tuh do.

"My Ol' Man was in the longest. He finally got out, but I don't think he ever really, ya know 'got out'. when he came back, Merle said he became the meanest sum'bitch tuh walk out town. Beat on Merle's Ma every day, until she finally left him when Merle was 18. Bout that time, Merle joined up.

"Merle, he probably wouldn't have gotten out. He was used tuh th' rules and stability an' all that shit. He was gone for a long time. I don't much know how long he was gone. Th' Ol' Man had been hookin' up with my Ma. Put together some half assed wedding, and I was raised by her an' that military monster. I didn't meet Merle until I was ten.

"He was…jus' like his daddy. With the exception of beating on everyone. Merle never laid a finger on my Ma. And he never hit me until he was teachin' me to fight. Merle tuh me was just, Merle. But accordin' tuh all the church ladies, and all the people in our town said he wasn't who he was no more. Apparently, he'd punched some high up rankin' mother fucker in the mouth. Got himself some military prison then dishonorable discharge.

"So, when I turned 18, I went, because that's what they told me to do. Ended up going overseas. Learned really quick not tuh let anyone get behind ya. Merle and our Ol' Man had taught me well. They'd always be waiting to attack from the shadows, they'd teach me how tuh listen for breathing, how tuh make sure no one got me from anywhere. They taught it through hunting.

"My second tour, I was in a convoy, and we got attacked. I was shot right in the back, near my spine. They got me out, fixed me up, and I was discharged with a fuckin' purple heart. Fuckin' brilliant right? After, me and Merle just got a place, and lived around. Hunting whenever, and drinking the fuckin' memories away." Daryl paused, his eyes far off, but then he glanced sideways towards the Asian.

"That explains a lot." Glenn finally got out.

"Yeah."

"So…" Glenn chewed on his lip. Daryl shifted.

"Whut?"

"You've killed a man before then?"

"Yup."

"Does it go away?"

"Whut?"

"The guilt. Of, you know, killling a man. Will that go away?"

Daryl chewed on his lip now, and looked out the window. He didn't speak for a very long time, and Glenn thought that he'd shut down. He pulled his hat off and turned to leave. He hoped that the beach would be cooler. He was getting pretty sick of the heat-

"It don't. not all the way." Daryl mumbled from where he was sitting. Glenn stopped, and glanced at the redneck. "Ya learn tuh forgive yerself, and you rationalize it, but ya never really stop feelin' guilty. They're dead, and ya killed them. But ya had a good reason for doin' it."

"Yeah I figured as much." Glenn mumbled as chewed on his lip. "So it kinda gets better?"

"It won't if ya keep wearin' them dog tags." Daryl answered plainly. Glenn balked, with his eyed fixed on the hunter.

"H-How…"

"I heard 'em. I see the chain. Ya ain't gonn' be able tuh fergive yerself, if ya got him 'round yer neck."

Glenn nodded. "Okay." He walked back towards the front of the RV, but paused in the doorway. "T-thanks Daryl. For, all of this."

"Yeah. No problem." Daryl smirked. "Ya tell anyone what I told ya, and I'll fuck you up."

"Yeah…I figured as much."

* * *

><p>Cali snarled as the RV hit another bump. Dale gave the riders an apologetic look. "I'm sorry guys, you know these coastal roads. They're not exactly the greatest feats of engineering out there."<p>

"You can say that again." Rick groaned as he rubbed his bumped elbow.

"Brace yourselves!" Glenn warned as yet another bump shook the car.

"Awh! Mother fucker!" echoed throughout the RV from the back, and the small children's eyes widened. Lori and Carol glared at Cali, as though the vulgar muttering of the hunter were her fault.

"What?"

"Will you please tell him to watch his language?" Lori asked. "Between him, and Glenn over there, our children are going to grow up talking like white trash!"

"What do you want me to do about it? 'Hey Daryl, I know that gunshot hurts and all, but if you could refrain from using any and all four letter words, well, that'd be just nifty!'" Cali rolled her eyes. "He got shot. And these bumps, just aren't helping. So if you want to go back there ant tell him off, well go for it."

"Cali…" She got the 'Mom' look, and even Rick shot her a 'Dad' look.

"Lay off the poor girl now." Dale smiled. "We're here."

"Where exactly is here?"

"We're right outside that small fishing town. Figured if we're going to check if there's Walkers nearby, we need to do it where there's less people."

"Good idea." Rick nodded. "So, Dale, Glenn, we'll grab T-Dog and Shane and scope the place out. What do you think?"

"Think that maybe we should go together. That splitting up thing didn't work so well last time." Dale sighed.

"Dragging all of us out there will? And with one injured-"

"Don' be counting me out."

They all turned towards the back of the RV, where Daryl was leaning against the door, with a smirk on his face.

"Son, I don't think you should be up and moving just yet." Dale advised cautiously, remembering the last time he'd advised Daryl to do anything.

"Gonn' git worse 'fore it gits better." Daryl gave a lopsided shrug. "An' ya'll don't know what's out there. Probably shouldn' be leavin' folks behind."

"He does make a good point." Carol spoke up, something she had been doing more and more lately. "We don't want to be sitting ducks."

"Okay then…" Rick nodded. "We gotta be light on our feet now. We don't know what's out there. Understand Carl? Sophia?" The two children nodded and grabbed their bags. Cali respected the hell out of those two. They were the most obedient and mild mannered children left. They understood survival, and what it would take to obtain it. They were strong, and ready for this world.

Everyone began packing up and arming themselves before heading out. Cali tossed her bag, which she noticed had become noticeably lighter, over her shoulder. She walked over to Daryl, and grabbed his face, pulling it down so that she could see his eyes. "You sure you're okay?"

"Good 'nuff."

"I don't want you playin' hero to put your life or my life in danger here." Cali smirked. Daryl snorted.

"Yeah, cuz yer gonn' be th' one savin' my ass." He rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall slowly. He moved slower then usual, sure. But he moved steady. He wasn't about to let anyone make him sit down. This society was like a horse farm, if a person couldn't function well enough to do their job, they were 'put down'.

"One day, you're going to need me to save your ass." Cali smirked cryptically. "And, I may or may not save it."

"You'd save it."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Cuz."

"Cuz why?"

Cali had to squint, but she could've swore that she saw a red tint brighten up the hunter's face. Was Daryl Dixon…blushing?

"What's got you all tongue tied?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Nothin'."

"Bullshi-"

"Cali! Daryl! You coming?" Lori called from the enterance of the RV.

"Coming!" Cali called back, then she returned her attention to the hunter. "We'll come back to this."

"Fuck tha'."

"Maybe later." Cali winked, and headed out the door. "If you're lucky!"

"Whore!"

"Ass!"

* * *

><p>Daryl kept taking deep, slow breaths as he walked, forcing himself to ignore the pain and just focus on the end goal. Survival. He's fuckin' survived everything, now all he needed was to survive this tiny fuckin' town.<p>

All the buildings were worn down by years of sea salt in the air and the constant water. But they were intact, and there didn't seem to be movement anywhere. The town was might've been deserted before the Walker thing happened. After all, it was smaller than the town he'd grown up in, and fuck, even his piece o' shit out was bigger than most of these. Yeah, the place looked old, and desolate. And probably pretty safe.

But, so had that church.

He ran his hand through his hair, and kept a tight grip on his gun. He just wanted to catch a fuckin' break. But whoever was in charge of that seemed to have other plans.

Everyone seemed to be on edge though. Grimes and his family were in the tiny market, looking for food that hadn't expired yet. Walsh and the Chink were traveling through buildings, and each one had seemed clear so far. Carol and her little girl were with Dale and Andrea, while they were checking out a clothing store, and packing everything up. And the nigga was checking out the cars. Everyone was doing something. Except Nia.

She was way down at the end of Main Street, leaning over the iron gate that blocked off the beach, that was just down those steps. Daryl made his way down there, and made his steps a little louder, so that she could see him coming. She didn't move however, just kept staring out of the ocean. "Nia?"

"Hmmm?"

"Ya okay?"

"Yeah." She had a wide smile on her face as she stared at the body of water that continually crashed onto the sand. "Great really."

"Th' fuck are you so excited about?"

"The ocean." Her smile got bigger. "It's so pretty."

"It's jus' water."

"No, it's not. I've never seen the ocean before."

"Whut?" He lifted an eyebrow. "Not ever?"

"Not once. I grew up in Wyoming, and I went to school in Montana. I've never gotten a chance to see it. It's so big!" Her eyes were wide and shiny. "Just like my mom always described it. 'Bigger than the biggest big that you can think of'."

Daryl only nodded, but he still saw the body of water as just that. A body of water. That must have some big ass fish, because those were some large dark masses there. The masses kept moving closer towards the shore, and he knew as soon as he saw Nia stiffen up, that they were fucked.

"Walkers!" he called back to the rest of the group in the town. "Comin' out the ocean!"

The group banded together almost immediately, and they looked to Rick and Shane. The two cops glanced around the down quickly. "There!" Shane pointed towards the dock, and the lock that was located on the gate. "We gonna have to lock ourselves into safety."

There wasn't time to argue, so the camp just ran. Cali tugged on Daryl's hand and kept him near the front with her, while she helped shepherd Sophia and Carl into the covered area of the dock. It was a nice one, almost like a shed on the water.

They piled into the chain linked fence area of the dock, and Shane locked them in, while Glenn worked on picking the other lock that kept the fancy dock shut off. At least that meant there were no Walkers inside the dock, because the windows had been broken, and no one was trying to get out. Plus, Glenn had pressed his ear against the door, and heard nothing.

"Come on, damn it come on!" He growled.

"Where the hell did the Walkers come from?" T-Dog asked as they started to get closer.

"Ocean."

"What the fuck were they doing in there?"

"Ain't no food up here. Had tuh git it somewhere." Daryl answered. "Fish in th' water. Not lik' them geeks breathe."

"Come on!" Glenn growled at the lock again. He pounded his fist on the door, once. Twice.

On the third time, he fell right through the opened door, and was at eye level, with a pair of platform sandals and toes painted neon blue. He lifted his eyes, and saw a small piercing at the corner of a pair of lips twitch up.

"Are you six kinds of stupid?"

**Thank yous!:**

**Lucy Freebird: Slash ain't my cup of tea either! And especially not Daryl and Glenn lol. Thanks for the love! And I like that it's a couple magnet ;D I'll remember that for season two!**

**Summerlover1: He couldn't die!**

**ROSESsecret: Thanks so much! It just seemed like the perfect way to end that! And both those boys will be having some fun soon :D**

**Jac Danvers: Right? It really seemed like the only way for Daryl to let people know he was okay! And yes, Ballsy!Glenn. I am quite the fan of him :D**

**Willow: Glenn got balls, because Glenn needed balls! And I used your idea ;) you likey? Thanks for always reviewing! I love it!**

**ChildlikeEmpress: See, that was a fun cliffhanger :DD and everyone likes the pain lol, they just need to admit it! And Cali's from hick town. All they have out there is whiskey! Lol. He's almost his old self again, but he's got the dick-ness coming back slowly. And skinny dipping during the zombie apocalypse…hmmm….lol it was Glenn's turn to chew Cali out! Thanks for the constant reviewing!**

**MyMissingHalo: I love love love your reviews! An thank you for the religious reviewing! And hahaha, that BDS torture was much much worse than this, so people can calm down ;) or maybe I'll just have Chelsea show up and remind them how fucked up humans are too! I'm glad you like my notes! :D and it was about time for her breakdown lol. And thanks for everything!**

**Constantlylost: Oh, that boy was fierce! ;) and we'll catch up with him soon!**

**xXBXx: I'm glad you liked the ending! :D**

**Viktorskrumpit: Thanks for that wonderful review! And yes, Glenn needed his manliness bumped up! And Carl's so adorable :D and I figured if I was gonna symbolize human weakness, I had to use the strongest one! And we'll be seeing Pride of Atlanta soon! Very soon. And I'm clan you're enjoying the curve balls and cliffhangers!**

**PlasticCandy: It'll be devil went down to Georgia next time ;) fish are yummy. Just ask the ocean Walkers! And you are a tease, don't deny it ;]**

**AFireflyOpossum: Don't cry! And I'm glad they're out of the church too, lol. It was depressing to write!**

**Nelle07: I'm just so glad you like it! And the emotion! I'm always a little worried about if it's coming over right lol. Thanks so much!**

**Willow the Collie: You're back! Lol I'm so glad you're back! And yes! New California, FTW. And lol, I love irony!**

**Amie Knight: Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy!**

**Thanks guys! Review please! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Wow…so uh…I swear I have a good excuse, mmmkay? There were…finals, I got a job, I started looking for a second job, I had a surgery, and I have an official boyfriend, then I had to play mom for three days, and I was drowning in writers blocks, and I rewrote this damn chapter 22 times. No joke. It didn't flow right, so this is the final product. I am so sorry my Little Zombies! Feel free to give me a good old fashioned bitching! **

**Disclaimer: Still don't legally own. Won't deny that Norman Reedus is living in my basement ;D **

**Oh! And did you hear that Reedus is up for a Emmy because of his role as Daryl? :D Yay Normy!**

**And finally, a reviewer brought to my attention she didn't like my use of racial slurs, when not specifying who the narrator was. I would like to apologize to TinoBiscuits. Although you said that you wouldn't be back, hell you're human, so you probably popped in to see what I had to say in response. So, I am sorry if my slurs offended you in anyway. And since this writing is in third person it's hard to specify the narrator at the time, but when I used the N word, Daryl was supposed to be the narrator, which I tried to explain by referring to Cali as Nia. I'm sorry if you misunderstood, and I'm sorry for the words. **

**And if the language offends anyone, please speak up in the comments. I can just as easily write something with a little less rawness in it. Just let me know!**

**I am once again sorry for offend you TinoBiscuits, and anyone else out there!**

**Sincerely, Eris. **

Chapter 12: Barely Surviving The Tidal Wave

Cali rolled over, and the contents of her finally full stomach emptied themselves into the small trashcan placed by her bed. Oh God, she was miserable. Almost miserable enough to jump ship into the ocean that was lined with Walkers on its floor.

What are the odds of Walkers learning how to swim? Well, they technically didn't swim. "Glenn?" her voice croaked. The Asian lifted his head up from his bed on the other side of the spacious room.

"Yeah?"

"How the hell did we get here?"

"Luck?"

"Damn right." Cali nodded. "We finally got some fortune to smile down on us."

"Well," Glenn sent her a smirk. "Most of us. Actually, everyone but you. Seeing as how the rest of us aren't seasick."

"How was I supposed to know I'd get seasick! I've never been on the sea!"

Glenn only laughed, and Cali rolled back to the other side of her bed and closed her eyes. She was going thourgh the events of her day, not to fall asleep this time, but to keep what was left of the food in her stomach.

"_Are you six kinds of stupid?" The camp stared up at the voice of a girl, who had reddish brown hair, and a silver stud in her lip that moved up as she smiled at them._

_The camp was wary though, having just survived their last ordeal, they were more than ready to shoot this girl if she even showed a little bit of a threat towards _their_ survival. _

"_Do we not speak English?" She asked, looking down were Glenn was still sprawled on the floor. "Should I try Korean?"_

"_Y-you got it right!" He smiled. _

"_Glad. My name's Avery. And I think you folks could use a little help. Am I off?"_

"_Spot on I'd say." Rick sighed, he'd assessed the situation, Avery was different from them. Her hair was shiny, she filled out her clothes, and there was the smell of mint toothpaste from her mouth. She had supplies, and somewhere, there was food. Enough to keep the girl not only healthy, but to even give her enough energy to work out, judging by the way her arms were sculpted. _

_Plus, she was shorter than Glenn. If she tried to attack, she'd be dead. No problem. _

"_Well, allow me to help. Although, I must say, you've made it a little harder then it would've been to get back. See, you woke up the Briny Bunch." Avery gestured towards the door where they could still see the waterlogged Walkers banging against the fence. The sun beating down on their opened bodies and sea soaked bones made their normally unbearable stench even worse, and Cali had to fight to keep her stomach from spitting up acid. _

"_How hard?" Shane asked, not counting on his companions to handle any arduous tasks. _

"_Difficult. But not impossible." Avery smiled, and her silver stud followed. "Come with me." _

_She had lead them out of the warehouse she had found them in, and loaded Rick and Shane down with a few boxes, and lead them the long way around the small fishing town. At first, everyone seemed to be able to handle themselves, but after a while, the fatigue started to wear them down. Daryl especially. His hand went from his side, to pressed against his shoulder. He went from walking on his own, to leaning a little against Cali. She just let him, until they got to wherever they were going to get to, she could hold him up for a little bit. _

"_Sorry guys, we're almost there!" Avery promised as the lead them back towards the docks. They could hear the Walkers still beating away at the fence a short distance from where they were. Avery gently pushed an area of the chain link fence away, and motioned for the two kids to go first. _

"_Where' 'sactly is there?" Daryl grumbled. _

"_On board."_

"_On board what?" Lori followed up._

"_The ship. Duh."_

"Cali, are you going to be able to handle dinner?" Glenn asked, pulling Cali out of her recollections.

"I'm going to have to. I want to meet this Captain guy."

"You know, it's considered rude to throw up on him."

"I'll try to prevent myself from throw-" She made another dive for the edge of her bed and emptied out what was left of the food she'd been able to eat when Avery first brought them on board and insisted they eat.

The ship had food. Lots of food, and a buffet table that never empited. It was a fucking cruise ship after all.

"Well, since that's the last of it, I should be good on the 'no throwing up on the Captain' thing." She moaned.

"Maybe you should go see that doctor with Daryl." Glenn advised.

"I don't think there's a cure for 'seasick', and there's no way in hell I'd want to be near Daryl when he's at the doctor. That'll be some scary shit."

"No doubt." Glenn agreed. He got off his bed, and walked over to the closest that came with the room, and found it full of clothes. "We should probably get dressed for dinner then, don't you think?"

"It came with clothes?"

"Yeah. Avery said that this room would have stuff that should fit you and me. And there's a lot of it."

"Ewww."

"Ewww? It looks clean enough?"

"What happened to the original owners Glenn?"

The Korean made a face. "Awh ewww."

* * *

><p>Gross or not, the pair made their way down to the dining hall around seven, where the other 200 survivors on this boat (not including crew) were seated, already chatting it up. Cali had to readjust the black strapless dress she'd found in the closet of mystery. It was a good fit everywhere but her chest. The lady who owned it was a bit more blessed in the chest area than Cali was. Glenn had found a dark pair of jeans, and a blue button up shirt, and Cali had made him take off his hat. They looked respectable. Something they hadn't felt in a long time.<p>

"California! Glenn!" Dale waved them over to the table where the rest of Camp Clueless sat. Sans the hunter, but he was probably still with the doctor, who would be able to properly check out that gunshot wound.

"Hey!" Glenn smiled as he sat down. Everyone looked much better after they had all gotten to shower again, and dress in clean clothes. Everyone was in better, but still suspicious spirits. They waited while the servers arrived to bring around some wine. Which everyone accepted, minus Cali and Glenn. They had long since learned their lesson about drinking and rooming.

While they waited for the Captain to join them, as Avery said he'd want to, they talked amongst themselves, and realized they all had the same list of questions.

"Sorry to keep you waiting everyone, I had a little bit of business to take care off." A kind older man sat down at the empty seat at the table, and flashed a smile. He seemed nice enough, but all Cali could see was the Captain from the Titanic. This man was a slightly younger version of that man. "My name is Captain Halstrom. And you are?" They each introduced themselves, and Glenn introduced Cali, for fear of her opening her mouth.

"She's a little seasick." Glenn explained.

"Not much of an sea person?"

"First time seeing the sea today actually." Cali gave a small smile. "Would've been prettier if it hadn't had Walkers crawling out of it."

"Ah yes. So you've already run into the problem we've become accustomed to."

"We're a little curious about how they ended up in the water though." Shane asked. "That couldn't have been a natural reaction."

"And why do you have a bunch of empty rooms?" Rick added.

"Full of clothes."

"And all this running water?"

"And food-"

"Electricity-"

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, please." Captain Halstrom laughed as he held up his hands. "I have answers. My goodness, didn't Avery explain anything?"

"Avery got us here, and got us rooms. Then she ran off."

"Of course she did. Alright, well, we'll start with the basics. Back when this epidemic first broke out, all ships were asked to dock. We were on our way in, but we'd had some very important guest request that the food that evening be local fish. So, for three days, we just dropped anchor and sat idle. These men had paid a lot of money for that fish.

"My men complied, and they went fishing. What we didn't know, was that in a last ditch attempt to save themselves, that small fishing town where Avery had found you lot, had thrown all their dead and dying into the ocean, in a hope that they wouldn't return. The dead reanimated underwater, and began chomping on the fish. The very fish my crew and passengers were intending to eat.

"Of course, not everyone ate the fish. See, we started this voyage with close to 3000 passengers. After the virus was released in such a confined area, we have close to two hundred left."

"That explains the empty rooms." Glenn sighed.

"It does." The Captain gave a solemn nod. "There was the outbreak, and the suicides. Got to the point where we told those who weren't infected to barracade themselves in their rooms, and my crew simply went and drove most of the Walkers overboard. We thought it might kill them, but as you saw today…we simply gave them more places to hide."

"What about the ship itself, the food, electricity?" Carol asked, looking at the lights.

"Well, we had stocked enough food for 3000 plus people, and our cruise hadn't been going very long. So we've got plenty of that, and most of my crew has survived the attack that took place on the ship. We've picked up bits and pieces of what was happening on land, and we just decided to keep going as if nothing was wrong. That's sort of what the remaining survivors on this boat are doing. They're living as if they're on a cruise for enjoyment. Not survival. My crew is more than happy to oblige them.

"Oh yes. And the electricity comes from the ship engine. We have excess fuel as well. Just a simple precaution. However, since we drop anchor, and leave the engines running just enough to have the electricity work. Plus, should the need ever arise, we can dock completely, and get fuel on land. These are small towns along this coast, and wouldn't have been wiped out so fast. We should have enough supplies to live comfortably for a very long time."

"Well, I can honestly say I like the sound of that!" Rick smiled.

"Well, we're always glad to have some new faces. And some other kids!" The Captain smiled at Carl and Sophia. "There's about seven other kids your age, and they spend their day at the pool, I hope you'll check it out."

The kids smiled wide at each other, and the parents all exchanged looks of happiness. Other kids, a pool, _excess_ supplies. This place was a utopia.

It seemed only Cali had the lead ball in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn't from the seasickness.

* * *

><p>Avery Wyland sat on the top deck, where no one else liked to go, and blew out a lungful of smoke. She'd had a prett productive day. She'd gotten some medical supplies, some snack foods, and more survivors. If you could call them that.<p>

Bone skinny, filthy, and terrified. Every single one of them had seemed terrified. Yet, they were completely in their element. They had the group mentality she'd read about in Lord of the Flies. She had liked that about them, that's why she wanted to saved them.

She took a drag off her smoke, and smiled. She knew that at least _one_ of those hundreds of empty rooms would hold a smoke like she'd been craving since she'd gotten on this damn ship with her parents.

"New Money" That's what her parents were. The 'Recently Rich' and willing to blow every penny they made on trivial things. Like giant houses for the three of them, and four cars, and a maid. An actual bloody maid. And cruises. Cruises had become their latest obsession. Although, all things considered, Avery couldn't really be mad at them for that one.

It had, after all, ensured their survival.

She put out the smoke, and leaned back in the chair, enjoying the last few moments of warmth before the sun would sink. Summer was almost over, and she idly thought about how the weather would chance once the seasons did.

"Hey girl."

She opened one eye, and saw the redneck looking guy from the group she had found earlier. "Hey, what can I do for you."

"Fuckin' hide me for starters." He mumbled. "No one fuckin' told me th' doctor was a gay."

"Oh, Dr. Parish isn't going to hurt you." Avery smiled. "He's just affectionate."

"I'd rather fuckin' chance the infection." He grumbled, taking a seat next to her. His eyes lingered on her hands, and she laughed as the pieces fell together.

"Oh, the sudden social attitude makes sense now." She grinned her best Cheshire cat smile at him.

"Whut th' fuck you talkin' about?"

"You need a smoke."

"Fuck yeah I do. Been months."

"Here." She tossed him a pack, and a lighter. "I'm feeling generous today."

"Much obliged miss." He answered.

"However, my generosity comes at a price."

"Should've seen that comin'." The man sighed. "Whut chu want?"

"Well, first tell me your name."

"Daryl."

"Daryl. Got it. And I'm Avery."

"Good tuh know."

"Ease up now, sir. I only want a little bit of information."

"Alrigh' then. Shoot."

"What's that Korean boy's name?"

Daryl's eyes narrowed at the girl. "Why?"

Her cheeks turned the same reddish tint her hair held in the sun. "Just wondering."

"Well, shit! Yer a chink chaser!"

"I…might be…yeah." She looked at her feet. "I was just wondering, if he was with that black haired girl that he roomed with."

"Nah, they ain't together." He answered quickly. Avery smiled again.

"So…you think I'd have a chance?"

"Yeah. Yer female. 'S a good start right there." Daryl smiled. He couldn't help it. He'd finally gotten nicotine back into his system, and he was feeling damn cheerful! Anyone didn't like it, they could suck his cock..

Avery snickered, and lit up another stick of her own. "Alright, I'm content."

"Can I ask ya a question?"

"Go for it redneck."

"Everyone on thi' ship seems tuh be takin' this whole situation well. Are th' other people sane?" He meant it as a joke, but seeing how stone faced Avery got, he could feel the jovial feeling slip from his body.

"Debatable." Avery sighed. "No one really accepts the idea. We've all seen it, but the other passengers pretend nothing wrongs. This is their safe haven." She blew out some smoke. "Personally, I think the place is just a time bomb waiting to go off."

"Fuckin' brilliant." Daryl groaned.

"Don't get your boxers in a bunch too quick there. That's just my opinion. And I'm a notorious pessimist. So you can't take what I say at face value." She winked.

They settled back into silence, just blowing smoke for a while.

"So…really think I have a shot with Glenn huh?"

"Christ, do I look like I wanna fuckin' have girl talk?"

**So once again, sorry! :D and I hope you liked it! Reviews? :D**

**Thank yous!:**

**XXBXx: Sorry the update wasn't exactly fast…but I hope you liked it!**

**Lucy Freebird: Cliffhangers are just so fun! And yes, more bromance to come!**

**GingerGidget: Yeah, the Ocean Walkers were the things I was the most scared of xD**

**ChildlikeEmpress: I'm glad you liked that line xD I could see it happening to a Dixon brother xD and yeah the Briny Bunch are nasy. Very nasty!**

**Constantlylost: I just love my cliffhangers :] and Merle will come back soon…ish**

**Willow the Collie: Awh, I just love your reviews! You're adorable :DDD thanks so much for them! They make my day!**

**MyMissingHalo: Thanks for the love on my BDS fic :D I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much, and I hope this one is almost as good! To be honest, I hated it! Avery went through like…six different appearances and names xD it was quite hectic! Thanks for your lovely reviews!**

**Nelle07: I vote more terrifying lol**

**Viktorskrumpit: Your review made me blush! Thank you so much for the work you put into that review! I loved every word of it!**

**PlasticCandy: You're forgiven. Lol, I'm a tease too it looks like! Yes, Walkers vs. Sharks…that'll be fun! :DDD**

**Witchbaby300: I'm glad you liked it! :D thanks for dropping a line, and welcome to the family!**

**The Seeker Witch: The trailer for Season two is out!**

**Silver: lol we don't need any withdrawals up in here! Hope this satisfies the craving ;) and yes, there is always time for a Reedus movie marathon!**

**Thanks for all the love guys! I promise I'll get better at updating!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Authro's note!: Yeah I know I suck, and you're right, I do. But I had to go out of town...and you know? I'm not going to give you guys excuses, you definitely don't deserve those! I promise I will try much much harder to keep up with this story, and my others, which I plan to update in the next few days! Boy, I swear I got more updates in during the school year than I did gratuating!**

**In more important news: OMG THE SEASON TWO WALKING DEAD TRAILOR IS OUT! AND YOU KNOW WHAT! THEY'RE IN A CHRUCH! :OOOOO I swear, if Cali shows up, I'm going to be very upset that they stole her...kind of. ;] but ladies and gentlemen (Are there gentlemen out there?) on October 16, our favorite Likes It Rough And Tough Redneck will be back! :D Finally!**

**We have a new segment! It's called the Super Duper Special Thanks! So, this issues SDST goes to MyMissingHalo and YourMercifulDeath for helping with my very apparent writers block Dx that shit's a bitch, I swaer!**

**And in a pretty obvious decision, you all seem just fine with politically inocorrect Daryl, so long as it's obvious that Daryl is the one talking. If that's what you guys want, then that's what you guys get :) Buuuut in the next chapter, this one is mainly for Glenny :D And the Amazing Dr. Parish!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD, and there is a little bit of gay hate in here, because Daryl is Daryl. I'm warning you now!**

Chapter 13: The Sharper The Blade The Cleaner The Wound. So I'll Be Keeping It Dull Tonight, For I Deserve To Hurt

Cali growled as she adjusted herself on the plastic chair outside of the ship doctor's office. She didn't want to be anywhere near the place. But, if Camp Clueless wanted to stay, they had to get medical examinations. That had been Captain Halstrom's only condition. So, with the approval of (most) of the camp, Rick had agreed to the doctor idea. But Cali, who hadn't been to keen on the whole ship idea in the first place was getting checked out first. In a decision she hadn't been a part of, the rest of Camp had decided she needed to be checked out. They wanted her eyes checked from the three black eyes she'd received since starting her journey with them, the ribs that one of Merle's men had stepped on and the several bruises that were still covering her body from the concrete basement stairs. She gave a bitter smile, most of those injuries had come from the person she had sacrificed her friendships for. She defended Merle, and Andrea wasn't very forgiving.

Right now, she hated Merle. So so much. He'd left her in an impossible situation. It was now her fucking job to tell Daryl that Merle would come back for him, and he'd let his cracked out soldier beat her up. She was so mad! Not only that, but Merle had caused so much death; Shiloh and Jonas, he'd killed the small repertoire Daryl had created with the camp, and slaughtered Glenn's innocence. How could one man cause so much damage?

_Daryl would probably be better off if I didn't tell him Merle would come looking for him. There's no way in hell that Merle could find us out here. If I tell Daryl, he'll just get hurt again. The only danger here is if he finds out._ Cali chewed on her lip, she was so tormented by her mind, she didn't register the figure in front of her

"Hello? Girl, I have been calling for you! I'm ready for you now!" The voice was smooth like a water carved pebble or an aged glass of whiskey. The owner of the voice didn't disappoint either. He was tall, tan and had sandy blonde hair. He was giving her a brilliant smile and his teeth were brilliant.

The man was _hot!_ "

Oh, sorry!" Cali hopped up and gave the doctor an apologetic look as she followed him into his office. Her first thought was that she was going to die. The room was shiny and sterile, and reeked of antiseptics and quite possibly Pinesol, which just pulled her right back into the church bathroom. That on it's own was awful, but there were sinister looking instruments that lined the counters. There were also bloody bandages that were hanging out if the trash can, and a scalpel that had been set near it. She felt her stomach tighten.

"So, nice to meet you! My name is Dr. Parish! But really, you can call me Beau. Short for Beauregard. Because my parents apparently hated me." He gave another adorable smile. Cali gave a small smile back.

"I feel you. My name's California, but you can call me 'Cali' for short." She gave a little smile back. "Some parents just leave you something that you're always explaining."

"California? Oh what a unique name? It's just divine! Pat would've just loved that! He was always into cool, different names like that! Simply divine!" Cali cocked an eyebrow up.

_Divine?_

"Anyways Miss Hollywood, I just need a simple physical and blood sample, unless there's anything else that you want me to check." Beau spoke like the option was there, bit Cali saw him looking at her eye. Chances were, he'd probably been given a heads up on what to expect with her.

"Actually, I had a little run in with some concrete stairs, so if you wouldn't mind checking that out so my damn family will stop breathing down my neck."

"Oh absolutely!" the doctor gestured towards the table that doctors insisted people set themselves on. Cali reached down to pull of her shoes, because they were a size too big, when the ship gave a huge roll, and Cali dove for the shiny sink. Her body seized up and she shook violently as she threw up stomach acid, all her empty stomach could provide. The doctor came over and rubbed her back. "Well, that just doesn't seem good at all..."

"Seasick."

"Really?" Parish snickered behind his hand as Cali's nausea slowly ebbed away. She scowled and the handsome doctor. "Yes, it's very funny. The only source of survival left, and I can't stand to be on the boat." She moaned. "I am honestly miserable…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes connected with the trashcan near the sink. "Although, not as miserable as that person." She gulped.

Blood, and the doctor really never mixed well.

"Hmmm?" The doctor glanced at the trashcan. "Ah yes! That was my first encounter with the new visitors. He had a gunshot wound to the shoulder, but he bolted before I could really get a good look at it. Mumbled something about me being a 'Flaming Faggot' under his breath and ran out. Shame too, that wound probably hurts."

"He bolted?" Cali repeated, eyes narrowing. "Daryl bolted?"

"Daryl? Was that his name? Hmmm…that fit rather well with the grimy plaid cut off shirt and messy hair. The mole stood out there, little too delicate for that fine specimen of man."

_Fine specimen of man?_

"Why yes he was." Parish was looking at her funny. "Why? Do you disagree?"

Cali blushed, not realizing she had said that last thought out loud. She scrambled for a way to make this situation less awkward, but came up with nothing. "He's, uh, he's not bad looking." The doctor stared at her long and hard.

"You slept with him huh?"

"How? I-…yeah." Cali rolled her eyes, not wanting to even pretend at this point. She felt like shit, and she wanted to go lay down. Parish sighed.

"Figures, the good ones are always straight." He shook his head, and answered every single one of Cali's questions. The man was gay. But, she should've know that when she had gotten a good look at his face…too hot to be eligible for women, or the women of the ship would have already been trying to throw each other overboard for a chance at this man.

"Hmmm…should I add a pregnancy test to the exam?" Parish asked, walking over to his desk. Cali froze, ice sliding down her back.

"W-what?"

"Pregnancy test? I mean, unless you somehow had protection available? Because even though those little Flesh Munchers are out there, doesn't mean biology has changed. Sex will still lead to a baby." Parish rolled his eyes as if this was a speech he gave often. Cali felt her knees start to shake, and a whole new fear washed over her.

_Seasick, or morning sick?_

"Uh yeah…you should probably throw that in there." She answered in a shaky voice. Parish nodded and pulled a small box out from the bottom drawer.

"Alright, you about ready for the exam?" He asked. Cali only nodded as she reached down to slowly pull off her other shoe, hands shaking violently. "If you would be so kind as to undress. The Captain has asked I make sure there isn't a bite on any of you. The last thing we need is another outbreak on board."

"Okay." Cali nodded as she reached behind her and motioned for the good doctor to pull on her zipper. The zipping noise seemed to echo through the room. She stepped out of the black dress and stood in a pair of underwear that only survived this long because it was the unrealistic lacy pair, and a black strapless bra that she had pilfered from her new closest.

Parishes eyes widened as he took in the state of her body. Inky black bruises danced up her legs and arms in what he would call a 'Defensive Position'. The right side of her rib cage was swollen, and it was apparent there was a problem there. Evident enough by the shoe shaped bruise that was printed there. That was all topped off with the lovely shiner she had attempted to hide under makeup. "Wow. You've had a bit of a rough ride then?"

"Just a bit." She mumbled, looking down ashamed. Parish was shocked, really. It took a lot of force to get bruises that dark, even if the stairs were concrete. The skinny, shaking girl in front of him wasn't strong enough to do that to herself. No where near. She must have had help.

_I am in the South, and those men are just dastardly toward their women…_ Parish thought with an inner snarl as he approached Cali and pressed his hand gently against her swollen ribcage. She hissed gently and winced. He pulled his hand away and went over to his desk, bringing back some bandages and a few ice packs. "Alright, if seems like your rib is fractured, and pretty badly at that. So, I'm going to wrap you up, and give you a few ice packs, as well as some painkillers. Make sure that you ice it continuously. I understand that you haven't hat the opportunity up until now, so it's extremely important that you do this now. It'll help them heal the way their supposed to. Also, you need to continuously take deep breaths, no matter how much it hurts. If your lungs aren't expanded to capacity for a prolonged period of time, you'll end up with pneumonia, and I think you're miserable enough." Parish winked at her, and Cali smiled.

"I'd agree with you there." She laughed and looked down at the rest of her. "These will just go away on their own?"

"They should. If they don't, they you can just come back and see me." He smiled. "You can also use one of those ice packs for your black eye. I really don't have anything else that could help you there. I'm really sorry."

"It's better then no ice, really." Cali smiled, lifted her arms so that the doctor could wrap the bandage around her ribcage. The doctor nodded and secured it.

"There, now, you ready for the pregnancy test?"

"As I'll ever be, I suppose." Cali mumbled as she accepted the stick and went to the bathroom that was connected to the office.

The only thing worse than being stuck on this ship, would probably be being pregnant and stuck on this ship. Cali thought miserably as she closed the door behind her.

She should've become a nun, like she promised.

* * *

><p>Glenn leaned against the railing, enjoying the breeze that came off the ocean. He'd never thought he would miss the wind. Especially because he was smart, and he knew that winter would bring just a lot more work, but right now, he was going to enjoy it. Because, here, on this ship. He was allowed to enjoy things. Good food, the comfort of weather, friends, family. Logically, he should've been ecstatic.<p>

But he wasn't. He was trapped, in his own mind. Drowning in guilt that he, logically shouldn't feel. But he did. He felt it open like a cold, dull knife every morning. The guilt of what he did to Corporal Evans was still fresh, and bleeding steadily. Although, instead of the relief of death, he was just drowning. Drowing in his own pain and guilt.

A Walker and a Human were completely different, but at the same time, they were the complete same. He wasn't sure how that was exactly logical, but it was. When he killed a Walker, he only felt relief, and almost like he had done the poor Geek a favor, setting them free from a prison where they contorted around and preyed on the flesh of their fellow man. If Walkers could wake the human part of the brain up once more, Glenn was positive that they'd beg to be killed, so that the wouldn't be monsters anymore.

Because they were. They were monsters.

But killing the human had been hard on him. Harder than he had realized, because even though Daryl had done his best to talk him through that, he still felt bad.

Glenn had to snort at this though. He felt bad. As if a term he once used to explain how he felt when he dumped his girlfriend or disappointed his parents could even begin to describe how he really felt, but he couldn't put words to it. Daryl had told him you can't put words to it. It was the guilt flooding your body. Survivors guilt, human guilt and the worse, the guilt of relief. Because, if Glenn was going to be honest with the darkest part of himself, he was relieved when Evans went down.

Logically, he could chalk it up to human instinct to survive. Humans had that primal urge. Glenn had seen it cross the features of everyone he traveled with.

But still, when he had realized that his bullet had gone through Evans' head and saved Daryl, he'd immediately felt relived, and had almost jumped for joy. He had lived, and his opponent had died. Glenn was Alpha, Glenn was stronger, Glenn deserved to live.

And he hated himself for that. For that damned animal instinct that had made him no better than one of the beasts that Daryl fed them.

Or worse, a monster himself.

"Screw this!" Glenn muttered to himself, grip on the Dog tags increasing to the point where his knuckles glowed white against his tan skin. He wanted to get rid of the tags, and drop them. Watch them sink to the bottom of the ocean and be trampled on by the hundreds of Walkers hidden in it's black waters.

But he couldn't let go.

"Yo! Chink! Ya alrigh'?"

Glenn jumped when he heard the voice, and looked behind him, to see Daryl walking towards him with the girl with the diamond stud in her lip. Avery. That was her name. Glenn tossed a wave and turned back towards his ocean. "How you feeling Daryl?"

"Haven't gotten checked out yet. 'Bout tuh go do tha'." Daryl growled. "Ya alrigh'?" He barked out again.

Daryl wasn't asking because he cared, they both knew that. No, Daryl was asking because if Glenn decided to play Kamikaze with his life, then it would be Daryl's ass that Nia chewed. He had to protect himself. There were only so many places that he could hide from the crazy bitch on a damn ship.

"I'm alright." Glenn answered, eyes fixed on the dark mass that was the land. So much blood soaked that land.

"Good 'nough fer me." Daryl gave half a shrug, and he walked off towards the doctor's office. Glenn and Avery stood there in a nice little silence.

"Where's the rest of your camp?" Avery finally asked, leaning against the railing next to him.

"The Captain is showing them around. I opted out, I think I'll be able to figure out. Only so many places that everything can be right?" Glenn gave her a smile, and she gave him one back. She was pretty cute.

"So, you alright?" She asked him, eyeing the Dog tags in his fist. His eyes rested on the sliver, and he frowned.

"I'm reflecting."

"On?"

"Something that has too many upsides to be a mistake, but still makes me feel horrible." He sighed. To his surprise, that girl smiled again.

"I think I know how you feel. I think we all know how you feel." She looked back towards the cruise ship. "We did terrible things to those passengers who became Death. We killed them in very inhumane ways…but…it didn't feel that way. People I recognized were being killed under the deck, and I was okay with it. The last thing I wanted to do was stop it. So I left the crew gather up the dead and the sick and throw them overboard. Does that make me a bad person?" She looked at Glenn, who could only stare at her.

"Were the sick still alive?"

"They were seconds from death. And that death would lead to them returning to cause even more havoc on this ship. We had to kill them, they had to die." Her voice was hard, and moved with a cadence that was different from her normal speech, like she was repeating a sentence someone else had uttered over and over.

Glenn nodded in response to her words. "The same happened on land. The sick were as good a dead, no matter what way it happened."

Like Jim. Poor brave, stupid Jim. Jim who got a choice. At that moment, Glenn envied Jim and his freeness of death and anguish. Glenn wanted to be free.

"Yeah, we did what we had to do. Does that make us horrible people?" Avery asked again. "We just wanted to live. Same as everybody else. But we didn't want to kill them, we didn't want to hurt them. We didn't want them to be sick. But what we wanted didn't matter. It's what we had to do that did." She looked down at her neon blue toenails. "Death was all over this ship, and my mom still dragged me down to the spa to get my toes done."

"Really?" Glenn asked, staring at said appendages.

"Yeah. Because people on this ship don't want to remember that they were survivors. They don't want to remember the people they killed because they didn't want to die. They don't want to remember the faces that used to eat at them empty table. These people just lounge around all day, and forget. The couples on their honeymoon that were torn apart by the Death now just pretend they're on a singles cruise."

"They can just pretend?"

"They all pretend. All of them." Avery shook her head. "I'm telling you this so that you're not too freaked out. Aside from being eerily calm, everyone is pretty nice. They're just…so far gone in their heads that they don't know what's real and what's not. They've fabricated perfection."

"So why not you? Why aren't you living in La La Land with the rest?"

"Well, I've got a nasty addiction to gambling. Started when my parents started getting money, and me getting a much bigger allowance. I like to play with power." Avery smirked. "So I play poker with the crew, and with the crew, there's no bullshitting. I know the truth, because they tell me the truth. I knew what was happening the whole time." She paused, and took a deep breath. "Besides, I had never been any good at pretending. I was always more interested in the real thing then pretending to be the real thing."

"Seems like you're punishing yourself." Glenn grumbled, not really sure where that had come from. Avery raised her eyebrows, then laughed.

"You know, I think I might be. All those people died, people who had worked their asses off for years to be able to afford this cruise, and they were the ones that died. My parents decided on a whim to hop on the ship, and we survive. We somehow live, the people who don't deserve it. It's just so stupid." She ran her hand through her hair. "And I feel so guilty."

"I understand that part." Glenn nodded.

"Your entire camp seems too." Avery nodded, then looked at the sky. "Well, poker's about to start, and my inner demon is begging for a thrill." She smirked.

"Ah, well don't let me keep you." Glenn smiled. "Go thrill away."

"You can come if you want, I'll spot you some cash. God knows I have so much more then enough."

"No thanks, I'm going to enjoy the weather why it's like this."

"Suit yourself." She shrugged. "See you Glenn."

"Bye." He smiled, and she pushed off the railing. "Oh Avery?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. You know, for the talk." He blushed and scratched the back of his head. Avery only smiled.

"Anytime."

**So, Tell me what you guys personally want to see! Tell me if you want a crazy on board to lose it for good? Or do you guys want to see some Walkers! Just let me know!**

**Thank yous!:**

**xXBXx: Haha he was pretty much my favorite in that chapter :)**

**ChildlikeEmpress: I feel even worse because this was probably the longest in between period I've had :( I am truly sorry! And I'm glad you like the 'Briny Bunch' xD I had been on the fence about that one! And I think I've got a fun little crazy stored up for you :)**

**Lucy Freebird: Yes! Glenn needs a girl! And thank you for the feedback! It was greatly appreciated!**

**Willow the Collie: HAHAHA Daryl does his girl talk so well :) and I think that Cali and Minty really need to meet!**

**PlainJane21: Thank you so much for that review :) I'm glad that the 3rd person POV is actually going across rather smoothly, and not a jumbled mess, and I also thank you for your encouragement to keep Daryl as realistic as possible. I think he's better that way as well!**

**constantlylost: Oh, there will be more of Dr. Parish and Girl Talk ;] I assure you.**

**Willow!: You need to update yours just as badly as I need to update mine! And our twins are incredibly difficult! They're so damn...Irish! I'm getting a lot of good feedback on the ship, which makes me exicted! I strive for orginal ideas here! And yes, you will get your lunatic!**

**Silver: Sorry D: I didn't mean to take forever! But I promise that this cruise ship will be suuuuuuuuuuuper fun for everyone ;D**

**viktorskrumpet: Awh Vic, your reviews always make me smile! Thank you for the support! I didn't think that people would actually think that those were my words! That's why I like first person so much lol. But I'm glad you like it, and thank you for reviewing!**

**ROSESsecret: Oh Rose, I've got a few gems up my sleeve ;]**

**MyMissingHalo: My surgery went well, thanks! :) and I'm glad you like it, because Avery is a thorn in my side, but she's growing on me like Cali :D I just *had* to make Cali seasick! It was too easy for the Wyoming-er who had never been to the ocean before to end up seasick. Plus, as we know, her luck is awful! And yes, Dr. Parish will be used to torture Daryl ;D he's also becoming a favorite, and Sean Patrick Flanery was his inspiration xD and yes! There will be more Girl Talk!**

**PlasticCandy: Well, I like to keep you guessing ;] and you're right! Lol I made him too British! LOLOL I won't make that mistake again, thanks! :D**

**itspeanutbutterjellytimex3: Hey a new face! :D Well, I'm glad you like it, and welcome to the family!**

**Jac Danvers: Yes! Finally some love for Glenn!**

**So please Little Zombies, Review! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: HAHAHAHAHA I see that Dr. Parish was a win, and it really made me happy to see how many of you recognize him xD SPF is one hero that's hard to top, and I feel as though he deserved a role, no matter how deeming it was! And I mean, he like…missed us ;] so Parish will be here to stay! And I'm glad Avery was a hit too! **

**And you guys wanted some drama and action, so here you go! :D**

**I'm glad you guys missed me as much as I missed you ;] I love you my little zombies!**

**And you all noticed that they were in a church in the second season trailer right? Now, do you guys think that's a little weird? I mean, if Cali shows up, I'm throwing in my two sense…unless she's like perfect x] then I can share!**

**Speaking of…is Daryl's name actually spelt Darryl? O.o **

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD and in this chapter Daryl gets to be racist and homophobic! Yay! So, is this disclaimer thing enough?**

**SDST: Hardcore to MyMissingHalo! Honestly folks, Halo pretty much wrote this entire chapter for you! So, if you feel so inclined to gush a little in the reviews be sure to thank her! She made this a much much much much better leeway into the drama then I had originally planned!**

Chapter 14: My Temple's Been Invaded And There's Nobody Guarding It

Dale walked slowly along with the rest of the camp through the corridor on the ship. The ship was large, and he was impressed. He couldn't help but think about Erma, and the way that she had always wanted to travel on a massive ship, and pretend she was on a Titanic that never sank, and Jack and Rose got married at the end of it. She wanted a happy end to the cruise ship love.

It was bittersweet, being here without her. But at the same time, he was glad she had been able to pass away before the dead became Walkers. He was content knowing that she was happy, and she was probably in heaven, wondering what her dolt of a husband was going to do now that he was a fighter again. A warrior. That what she had called him when he had showed her his Draft card all those years ago. Erma's eyes had filled up with tears, but she had smiled and said "You'll be okay, you're a warrior. You'll be just fine."

And now, _years_ later, he whished that she was here to say that to him again. Instead, he was going to take care of himself, surviving. Just like she'd expect from him.

"And this," The Captain explained, sweeping his arm out. "Is the library. Open everyday, and you can spend as long as you want in here, just watch out for Mr. Hahn. He likes to sleep in that little chair there." Halstrom laughed as he saw Carl and Sophia's snigger at the small old man with his head to the side and snoring loudly. "We have more of our anti-social passengers hang out here, so I'd encourage any of you to breathe some more life into the area." They continued to walk, as the Captain described where each section was and introduced them to a timid looking librarian. She tittered and introduced herself while Dale wandered off.

In a dark corner of the libaray, where the dimmed lights didn't seem to reach, there were four tables with chessboards set up. Three were pristine and untouched, which was expected from a cruise with a very young group, but one chess set was sitting there. It looked like it had been halfway through a game. The white was winning, so Dale examined the board. Whoever had been playing white was simply toying with black. White's rook was well within the range of black's knight. With a small smile, he moved the black knight to knock out the rook, and he placed the rook on his side. That would be his way to help the underdog. That was his way, always support the underdog.

Dale rejoined his group just in time to catch how many books they were allowed to check out-

Quickly, and obnoxiously loud, an alarm rang out through the ship, echoing through the hull and almost shaking the ship. Dale, and the rest of his companions almost hit the deck, but instead they stared wide eyed at the Captain. The man only smiled and held up his hands in a calming fashion.

"Now now folks, it's quite alright! It's a monthly drill, something that's preprogrammed into the ship that we're working on disabling. But for now, we ask that you simply act as though it was a real lockdown. Is that alright?"

"Like in school?" Sophia asked. The Captain smiled.

"Exactly like that! Now if you folks don't mind I need to go to a run-through, please remain here until the all clear sign, and I'll come back to resume the curb."

"Yeah, that's uh, that's completely fine." Rick answered, and the rest of the camp nodded. "Looks like we'll just be catchin' up on some reading. Right folks?"

Everyone just nodded as the alarm turned off. "Right! Well, I'll be back for you soon." The Captain smiled and took off. The Camp sort of stood for a few seconds before they started to spread out and look for that particular genre that suited each best.

Dale, personally, loved Stephan King, and found himself a well read copy of Christine and turned towards one of the comfy looking chairs next to the chessboard. Dale froze, and his jaw dropped.

His black knight was now on the white's side, and a shiny white bishop now stood proudly where his knight had.

_Well,_ he thought as a smile crossed his features _looks like it's game on. _

Dale sat down and began to think of his next move.

* * *

><p>Daryl leaned against the wall once more, growling to himself. He'd swiped three of those pain pills from that queer, but he had apparently not caught that the fuckin' pills were actually Tylenol, which didn't do much to help the barely concealed gunshot beneath the bandage on his shoulder.<p>

When he'd first showed up at the doctor's office, and that fag had quite sweetly told him to "Sit on down honeybunch, and let's get freaky with that hole there."

Daryl had been out of there faster than a bat out of hell, that queer had scared the shit out of him more than the Walkers had. Christ, he was more than willing to let his shoulder get infected with germs rather than the Fucking Flamer.

But the pain, well, shit it had been a long fucking time since he'd been shot, almost seven years, and then he'd been hooked up to a morphine drip. Not to mention in those seven years he'd gotten a bit more than a dependency for those damn smokes, and whiskey that tasted best in the south. His body was run down, and a little on the skinny side now, and the pain was much worse then he realized he could handle. So, here he was, about to go ask that sorry excuse of a man to help him.

Merle would've been so disappointed.

Daryl finally reached the door, and he heard the doctor talking. Good, at least he was there. Daryl pushed the damn door open.

"-can't be pregnant!" Nia sat on the bed chair thing, in a black dress, her head in her hands.

"We haven't seen the results yet." The Fag sighed from where he was leaning against the counter. A small ding echoed through the office. "Ah! I'll go check it!"

"Check what!" Daryl finally spoke, his brain kicking into overdrive. Nia jumped right to her feet, her normally big brown eyes had somehow become even wider. He could tell that she was shaking.

"D-Daryl?" Nia looked like she was trying to escape.

"Nia…what the fuck is going on." Daryl's stomach felt like it was drowning in darkness.

"D-Dr. Parish is…uh…he's checking my pregnancy test." She mumbled. Daryl froze, and he saw red.

"PREGNANT? ARE YA FUCKIN' KIDDING ME!" He growled. "I'M JUST HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW!"

"THIS IS THE FIRST I EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT IT! IT HADN'T CROSSED MY MIND!"

"HADN'T CROSSED YOUR MIND! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NIA! WHAT THE FUCK DO YA MEAN!"

"WELL SORRY THAT IN BETWEEN BEING ATTACKED BY A BUNCH OF WATER LOGGED WALKERS AND GETTING MAULED BY YOUR DAMN BROTHER I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT FUCKING YOU WITHOUT PROTECTION MIGHT ACTUALLY LEAD TO SOMETHING!"

"Oh Jaysus!" Dr. Parish looked between the two of them. "This is better than _Desperate Houswives!_"

"Not helping fag!" Daryl snarled. Nia stalked over to him and punched him hard in the stomach, Daryl was shocked, but at the same time a little proud. She hit damn hard.

"You _don't_ get to talk to Beau like that!" She snarled, her finger in his face. "He's been fixing all the problems with my body that _your_ brother caused!"

"Oh now you blame Merle! Didn't seem to pissed when he was around!"

"That was for you!" Nia threw her hands up in the air. "_Someone_ needed to be on your side you ungrateful ass!"

"Ya know whut! Fuck ya Nia!" Daryl turned on the Doctor. "Go read the damn test! Now!"

"Hold on now, I think you need to calm down-"

"WHO THE FUCK ASKED YOU!" Daryl and Nia both turned on him.

"Oh hell no! Angry couple does _not_ get to bitch at me because they're all of a sudden looking down the dark hole of the parent trap!" Parish snapped his fingers at them. Nia and Daryl dropped their jaws. "Now look you stupid children, what happened, happed. You can't moonwalk honeybunches, you can't walk backwards! Now it's time to put on your big people pants and deal with what happens when you have sex and wait."

Daryl and Nia could only stare at the doctor. "Wow." Nia whispered.

"Did…ya jus' fuckin' call me 'Honeybunch'?" Daryl asked. Parish just rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom. He came back with Nia's piss stick. Daryl's heart was stuck deciding if it should speed up or stop.

"Ready?"

"Yeah." They both answered. Parish looked down at the stick.

A loud, screeching alarm filled the entire room, and Daryl had to resist the primal urge to hit the floor, and Nia was almost bent over with her flat palms over her ears. Parish snickered. "Calm down CooCoos. It was simply an alarm, I need to go do my duty. So I'll be right back. In the meantime, you two lovebirds…or whatever you are…can work things out." Parish dashed for the door. "Ta!"

"Wait!" Nia screamed, but it was drowned out by the screeching sound and Parish ditched out of the office. "Come on you queen! You could've at least left me the test!"

"Fuckin' Flamin' Faggot!" Daryl called after the doctor. He was met with the heaviest silence he'd ever heard as the sirens stopped and he heard the doctor lock the door. "Shit!"

Nia sat back down on the bed thing, and stared at her shaking hands. Daryl thought about trying to comfort her, but he just couldn't. If she ended up pregnant…what the fuck was he supposed to do? They were literally floating above death, not to mention that it wasn't another survivor. It would be a damn baby. Virtually helpless, and it would render Nia helpless too. How the fuck were they supposed to get baby supplies on a damn ship?

And fuck, what would happen at the actual birth! They didn't have the kind of drugs to knock her out, and while Nia seemed to attract pain, he didn't believe for a second she could handle childbirth. There weren't no doctors to help with it either. They would be screwed.

"Fuck." Daryl whispered as he leaned against the counter harder. Letting it support him completely. Shit this all seemed so fast! They hadn't hooked up that long ago it seemed. Of course, Daryl did speed a good amount of time of that 'in between' unconscious. So maybe it was enough time, but he'd always thought it'd need to be at least a month before a bitch could know for-

Holy fucking shit.

It was the _fucking chink's_ kid!

"Fuck Nia." He breathed. She looked up at him.

"What?"

"It ain't even mine."

"What?" She glared at him. "How is it not!"

"Ya fucked the chink not long before me!"

"Oh, and we're back on that! So you think it might be Glenn's?"

"Didja wear a rubber with the chink?"

Nia's face turned red. "No."

"Well fuck Nia! Were ya fuckin' waitin' for this? Ya sure did a good job'va makin' it happen!"

"Daryl shut the hell up! I didn't want this! Not even close!" She jumped off the bed and stood her ground. He realized how out of place this situation was then. Why was Nia dressed to the nines standing barefoot in a doctors office yelling about an unborn baby.

"Well, ya did a damn good job 'a stopping it!"

"QUIT YELLING AT ME LIKE IT'S ALL MY FAULT! THIS ISN'T MY FAULT! NOT ALL THE WAY AT LEAST! YOU DESERVE AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF THIS BLAME! OR GLENN! OR WHOEVER THIS LITTLE BASTARD'S FATHER ENDS UP BEING! BUT YOU KNOW WHAT! I HAVE BEEN WORKING MY ASS OFF SINCE DAY ONE TO MAKE SURE I NEVER GET IN THE WAY! TO MAKE SURE IT WAS NEVER ME THAT NEEDED SAVING FROM ANYTHING! SO DON'T YOU DARE CALL THIS DAMN NAIL IN MY COFFIN SOMETHING THAT WAS INTENTIONAL! DID ANYONE CARE THAT I'VE NEVER WANTED A DAMN KID! EVER!" Nia screeched at him, and then she fell to her knees, arms wrapped around her ribs. "Damn! Damn this hurts!"

"Nia! What happened?" Daryl asked as he dropped down next to her. Nia had tears streaming down her face, and her breaths were coming in short gasps.

"Your…damn…brother's friend…broke a few ribs." She snarled through the tears. "And I might be pregnant. She broke down then, complete sobs shaking her tiny body. And…and I'm fucking seasick!"

Daryl bit his lip, and realized for the first time since he was in a damn war zone, that he was scared.

* * *

><p>Glenn was strolling along one of the hallways when he realized, rather sadly that he was lost. Maybe he should've gone on that tour after all. He had no idea how to get back to his and Cali's room.<p>

Was it 213 or 312? Man, how could he forget to double check the room number before he left?

"You look a little lost there." Avery's voice traveled across his senses along with a small cloud of smoke from the cigarette she held in her hands. Glenn smiled, happy to find another person within the immediate area.

"I am lost! I just couldn't find anyone else!"

"Yeah, you probably wouldn't. This is where Death started. This are the high roller rooms. Like more then my parents wanted to spend expensive. People don't normally come up here. Freaks them out." She explained, lifting up her platform sandal and stubbing out her cigarette on the sole.

"Then, what are you doing up here?"

"This is where we have the poker games. The Captain never comes up here, so we never get caught. Death doesn't really creep out the crew anymore. Obviously not if they were able to swipe two grand from me." She rolled her eyes and Glenn tried not to balk.

_Two grand!_

She saw the look behind his eyes anyways. "Disgusting isn't it? That I have that much money to gamble away in the first place?" She rolled her eyes.

"You're quite self hating."

"Oh, completely." She laughed. "It's alarming really."

"Just a bit." Glenn smiled. "So, do you know how to get back to my room?"

Avery opened her mouth to answer, but her response was drowned out in what sounded like a fire drill through a megaphone. Glenn winced, and found himself hating the noise. It was a simple hindrance. At least that's what he thought.

He glanced at Avery and realized he'd never seen a more panicked look on a person's face before. All of her playfulness had washed away completely and left a perfect expression of fear. She immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him into one of the rooms. Glenn could only look on in shock as she double locked the door and crawled into a corner.

After a little bit, when the alarm stopped sounding. Glenn realized that she was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering. "Avery? What's wrong?" but she didn't respond. She sat there with something that resembled the 'Thousand Yard Stare'. "Hello? Avery? Is everything okay?"

"Not even close." She managed to get out.

Glenn narrowed his eyes, and walked over to her slowly. "Avery? Please tell me what's wrong?" but the girl was unresponsive. She had been gone, so far gone. He chewed on his lip, and looked around the room. It was really nice, but the previous tenant had left personal things spread out all over…including a deck of cards.

Glenn got up, and grabbed the card deck, shuffled them, and divided the deck in half. He placed half the deck in front of Avery. She looked at him and narrowed her eyes in confusion. He smiled and picked up the other half. "Ever played war?"

"Yeah?"

"Good. It's my favorite game." Glenn smiled. "You should play with me."

"Right now? Do you have any idea what's going on right now! Do you?"

"No a damn clue." Glenn admitted and flipped a card over. "Now you flip one."

Avery only stared at him as she flipped a card over and she grabbed the two cards. Glenn smiled. "Why are you so calm?"

"Because I don't know what's going on." He answered as their game started to pick up it's pace. "Do you want to tell me?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Well, how about we'll just lead up to it. We'll ask questions. Winner of each round gets to ask the question?"

"Sounds good." She smiled.

"Alright. Mine." Glenn smiled. "How old are you?"

"19." She answered.

"Mine again." He grinned. "Where are you from?"

"New York." She dropped her card. "Finally, mine. Where are you from?"

"Atlanta."

"Wow."

"Mine. How did your parents strike rich?"

"At the expense of others." She frowned. "Mine. How long were you in the service?"

"What?" Glenn looked up, but kept the game going.

"Your dog tags. Well…they are yours? Aren't they?"

"No…these…uh…these belong to someone else."

"You don't want to talk about this." It wasn't a question. She was looking at him.

"Maybe someday. Just today, I'm going to keep letting him control me. Someday I'll let him go."

"Are you like…uh…gay?" She bit her lip. Glenn laughed.

"No, that's definitely not like that. It's just hard to talk about."

"Okay, I understand." She grinned.

"So…you wanna tell me what's going on out there."

Avery met him dead in the eyes, and all the mirth was gone from her face. It was just plain. She set down her deck of cards and looked away. "It's better if you don't know. If you and your family just join the others in La La Land. Because the truth, the truth will be enough to kill you."

* * *

><p>With a loud and final gunshot, the Walker fell. Captain Halstrom lowered his gun slowly. The two crew members with him went over to the Walker and tossed him overboard.<p>

"How's that possible Captain?" Skipper asked. "We cleared all the remaining members, and we cleared all the dead. Where did he come from?"

"I'm not entirely sure." The Captain frowned.

"Those fucking newcomers."

"No, they've only been here a few hours. Not long enough to create a Walker. Someone on the ship must be doing something. Someone must have something going on."

"Captain, we have to tell the passengers. We have to find this man."

"No. That will cause nothing but chaos. We can't do that."

"But Captai-"

"Help! Over here!"

Captain and his two men ran around the corner, only to see Johnny-Boy laying on the floor, bleeding out from his neck. A massive bite mark.

"Johnny!" Skipper dropped to the floor next to his comrade and best friend. "You'll be alright. We'll find a way man. We'll help you! We'll help you. I promise! You can trust-"

The bullet shot through Johnny's head and exploded in a spray of blood and guts. Skipper jumped up. "What the fuck was that! He wasn't even dead! Who knows if the Walker even did that! What the fuck!"

"We don't take chances." Halstrom replied quickly. "Ever. Anyone even comes close to being a liability, they're dead. You know the rules."

Skipper only glared at the Captain as the two other men lifted the body of his best friend and tossed him into the water. Food for Death.

But it didn't matter. No one would notice him gone, and the blood would be washed off by morning.

**Thank yous!:**

**xXBXx: Bombshell for all! Lol how awful of parents would the two of them be?**

**SaraLostInes: Yes! I threw that line in just for you! :D**

**MyMissingHalo: I love you lol, you have no idea how much you helped with this chapter, and I hope you liked Parish ;D**

**LucyFreebird: I promise you'll get your request once they're don't being pissed as shit ;]**

**Constantlylost: I am loving how many people know where Beauregard Parish comes from :D makes my heart smile!**

**Nelle07: Like that? ;]**

**ChildlikeEmpress: There! I updated much faster this time! :D and the mole thing was totally my favorite part xD**

**Viktorskrumpet: Really, I updated this so fast because your lynching comment scared me xD I don't want that to happen! At all! I'm glad Daryl makes you laugh, and I feel disappointed because I'm not sure his reaction was actually very realistic. And damn, Cali's already insane huh!**

**Willow The Collie: Yes! I'm back! And yes you do! ASAP! And yes, Cali and Minty would be a hell of a problem though! Glenn will be working on that. He promises! Was this trauma and action good? :D**

**KitKat83: Hey! A new face! Thanks for the review! Hope to hear from you again!**

**So, my little zombies, since day one, I've left it up to you. Symbol do you want on Cali's pregnancy test? + or - !**

**Love you all! **

**Eris**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note!: Hahahaha holy fuckin' shit man. You guys are hilarious, I honestly love reading your reviews…although some…some are scary lol. Some of you threaten death. (Vicky, that's definitely you I'm talking about ;D) but…that just means you guys care…right? :D so, there's some totally sad news; I work all week next week, so it'll probably be a long ass time before I can update again :[ so, I hope this holds you guys over long enough!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD, Daryl's going to be a total douche, and there's probably going to be some graphic nastiness. So hey, let's just go with it!**

**SDST: As always, goes to Halo and her ever open ear, and one for LucyFreebird, who unintentionally gave me the idea for the whole Beau and Daryl thing! So thanks to both of you! :D**

**As for Cali's motherhood status…remember, I just counted up the votes here lol. You guys chose this on your own!**

Chapter 15: If I Could Take Your Pain And Frame It, And Hang It On My Wall Maybe Then You'd Never Have To Hurt At All 

Daryl leaned against the counter, having not moved since Nia had lost conciousness about an hour ago. Where the fuck was that doctor? What could that Fag have to do that was so important? Plus, Daryl was almost convinced that Dr. Faggot had bailed on purpose. To make them sweat just a little bit more. Because that was exactly what they had needed. More stress. Daryl had one foot in the grave before the Walkers started swarming, now? Shit he'd felt like his heart was going to stop at least three times in the last hour. Everyone else thought he was a rock…but honestly, he was just less interested in what happened then the rest. But with the gunshot, the soldier that held him at gunpoint, and the idea that he was going to be a fuckin' dad?

He was havin' one fuckin' shitty week.

_Although,_ he smiled ruefully _probably havin' a better time of it then she is._ He gave the sleeping body on the bed a glance. Her arms and legs were peppered up with the inky black bruises his brother caused. One of her eyes was lined in blackness that had become more common place then the tan skin that covered the rest of her body. Not to mention she hadn't slept in days. "First time ya get a decent sleep, and it's cuz yer damn ribs are shattered."

Luckily, she hadn't woken up. In she had, her foot would've been shoved up his ass. Nia was a right bitch when she was woken up.

His eyes traveled over to a cabinet that held more then it's fair share of painkillers. Real painkillers. And with the stress that was threatening to rip him into several different shreds of pain and unhappiness, he had to fight the addiction to crush one of those fuckers up and do a line. An addiction he thought had been forced dormant.

He was more like Merle then he cared to think.

The hand that connected to his arm was reaching for the pills as he heard the lock click. He pulled his arm quickly back, and when that queer reentered the room, Daryl was the picture perfect angry redneck.

At least his hand was back under his control.

"Miss Hollywood!" Queer busted in with a sing-song voice. Daryl was instantly in front of him, hand over his fuckin' mouth.

"Shut the fuck up!" Daryl snarled. "She ain't slept in days, and there's no fuckin' way ya wanna wake her up."

The other man's answer was muffled by his palm. Daryl rolled his eyes and removed his hands. "Erm, but…doesn't Hollywood want to know if she's a mommy or not?" He waved the little stick around in his hand.

"Why th' fuck did you take that with ya? Just fuckin' creepy."

"Well, I thought it would help you to work out your differences!" He looked behind Daryl. "I uh, I didn't think that you'd knock her out."

Daryl had to resist the urge to wrap his hands around Parish's throat. "She passed out from pain faggot."

"You have no tact. Really."

"Bitch later. Aren't ya gonn' do something about her?"

"What do you want me to do there Frenchie?" Dr. Parish smiled snarkily, and poked the mole near Daryl's mouth.

_Mother fucker's dead. Fucking dead._

"Well…" He pushed through gritted teeth. "She passed out from pain. Th' fuck should you do?"

"Anything I could do requires her to be awake-"

"Ferget it then. Jus' wait until she wakes up." Daryl rubbed his hands over his face, then winced as his shoulder surged with pain again. The doctor lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh yes. You got shot. You ready for me to look at that?"

"Eh." Daryl grunted, rather unwilling to allow this man to really give him a good look over. "I don't much trust yer medical capability…I mean, so far, all you've done is run of with a stick Nia pissed on an' you took off some bandages." Daryl snorted. "Real impressive work there Hawkeye."

"Well!" The man moved away from Daryl and opened the cupboard and brandished a scalpel. "Let me prove you wrong!"

"Uh…" Daryl's face paled a little.

"Come on pussy. You aren't scared of a knife are you?" An evil grin broke out on the face of the other man. Daryl clenched his teeth, and pulled off his shirt, giving the doctor full access to the Frankenstein stitching Grimes had attempted. The doctor began cutting gently at those stitches, and Daryl thought about anything else.

The Fag wasn't making things easy. "I'm a little surprised. You're all gritty…but then little Miss Hollywood has you so whipped it's almost scary."

"_Whipped?_" Daryl could barely choke out the word.

"Oh completely. It's sweet though. You must love her."

Now, Daryl couldn't even voice anything.

Love? No one had ever said anything about love. And how could he do that? How could he love Nia when this what the world they lived in. As far as Daryl was concerned, love no longer existed. It was only Death and Survival.

Sure, Nia was sweet, good lay. And she sure could bitch with the best of them. She'd done a damn good job of proving her loyalty too. When faced with the choice between the Dixons and the respect of the rest of the camp, she had sided with the men who had saved her.

"Hello?" The fag was looking at him.

"Nah. I don't love Nia." He mumbled.

"Well, then you are a damn asshole." The doctor punctuated his feelings with a not too gentle prodding of the open wound. Daryl snarled.

"Th' fuck?"

"She loves you. It was only a few hours and I could tell. Don't be a dumbass. She couldn't love you more if she spelled it out for you."

"Nia don't do love."

"Really? Then what does she do?" The doctor asked. Daryl was quiet again, throwing another glance at the body on the table. Good. She was still sleeping.

"She-"

"She sat in here for almost two hours as I patched her up from all the bruises and bumps and broken bones that apparently came from your brother. I've also decided that your brother is the only person I've ever wanted to kill. You come in close second."

"Wha' th' fuck did I do?" Daryl asked, exasperated at this point.

"You let your brother treat Miss Hollywood like a punching bag. She's not filled with sand, she's going off you as her painkiller. But since it's so obvious that you really don't give a shit about what happens to her, that makes you almost as worse-"

"I don't let people hurt her! She has this uncanny ability to get royally fucked." Daryl groaned. "I do my fuckin' best to make sure she don't get hurt."

"You want to do something that matters? Then you protect her completely. Bruises don't complement her skin tone. Blue and tan just clash. And sadness drowning such pretty eyes." Dr. Parish reached into a drawer and pulled out a length of surgical thread. "She looks at you the way I used to look at Pat before he had his foot chewed off by a Walker, then threatened to come after me." The man gave Daryl a bone chilling glare. "You don't deserve her. So the least you could do is act like she matters to you."

Daryl only stared at the man. "Ya-"

"And if she ends up pregnant, you bet your sweet country ass that I will skin you and use you as a sail-"

"A damn cruise ship don't need no-"

_Smack!_

"Awh! WHAT KINDA MOTHER FUCKIN' DOCTOR SMACKS A DAMN GUNSHOT! WHAT KIND OF FUCKIN' GAME ARE YOU PLAYING! THAT FUCKING HURTS!" Daryl coughed the words out.

Beau just sat there with a very satisfied smile on his face. Daryl glared at him.

This fag was going to be a headache, he could tell.

"You two suck, you know that right?" Nia lifted her head groggily, but she made no attempt to move, broken ribs still dominating her body at that point.

"Morning sexy!" Beau cheered, back to being the stereotypical faggot. Daryl resisted the urge to face palm. This fag was going to make him a bitch, a complete and total bitch. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"What happened?" She looked at the two of them.

"Ya passed out. Figured we should just let ya sleep."

"Yeah the drill lasted a little longer then we thought-"

A pair of high heeled shoes flew at both of them, and somehow, Nia hit both targets. Right in the head.

"Bitch!" The two men hissed.

"That," She gasped, cradling her middle. "was because you left with my damn pregnancy test, and because you both thought it would be a good idea to gossip about me."

"You heard that?"

"I'm an insomniac…the smallest noise will wake me up." She rolled her eyes. "Now, I think I've waited long enough. Want to tell me if I'm pregnant or not?"

"There a test tha'll tell ya the damn Pop?" Daryl hissed. Nia glared at him.

"You're just worried Glenn's more fertile then you. Probably is. Younger, and healthier. Probably be cuter kid too-"

"Yer jus' a nasty little whore who can't keep it to one fuckin'-"

"You've been with more girls then have gone wild! But you prefer nasty, plastic nailed bar skanks-"

"An' you're a saint?"

"Please! You're just scared to go from Daryl the Dick to Daryl the Dad!"

"And that concludes Jerry Springer Power Hour." Parish held up his hands. "Honestly the way you two go on is just scary! I'm glad this test is negative, you two wouldn't have lasted nine months of hormones!"

The two just stared at him. "It's…"

"Negative?"

"Yeah." The doctor nodded. "Sorry Califonia, but you're not pregnant."

Daryl let out a sigh of relief. Nia nodded. "Good." She mumbled. "Good."

"Yeah, I figured you might think so." Parish nodded. "Oh shoot, I need to grab some needles. Daryl, hold the sterilized pad against your shoulder and I'll be right back. Can I trust you two not to kill each other in the meantime?"

"Yeah." Daryl mumbled, pressing a pad against his shoulder. What did they have to fight about anyways? The Doctor headed out, leaving the two of them to sit. Daryl closed his eyes and let the absolute feeling of peace flood over him. Then he heard the sniff.

It was muted, and could've been passed up to a allergy thing. He could believe that.

Except when they lived in the woods, Nia had never given any indication of allergies. Daryl winced and turned towards her, and he saw her face shoved into the thin little pillow on the bed. Her shoulders were shaking and he heard another sniff.

What the fuck?

"…Nia?" He mumbled. She gave a deep breath and looked up. Her make up was smeared, and partly running down her face. She gave him a watery smile as her shiny wet eyes attempted contact. "Ya okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. Didn't you hear Beau? I'm not pregnant. I'm officially the luckiest girl on the planet. It's not like I had started to love this kid or anything. There's no kid to love." She tired to give him her biggest smile, but it crumbled before completion and she began to sob. Daryl only got up, and walked over to where she was. He crawled onto the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest, and she cried.

"Shhh, Nia. 'Salright. Really. Why are you so sad?" Daryl asked, absentmindedly running his finger through her undone hair. She took a deep breath.

"I don't know, like…I just…I thought about it, and I guess I just assumed the word. My own damn fault." She pushed the tears from her face.

"Nia…it would be cruel to have a baby with the world like this. With them damn Walkers everywhere. It's not safe. There's no way to take care of a pregnant woman, or to give her a healthy birth. It's putting two lives at risk rather then one. It jus' ain't right to do that." He whispered. "Even if it hurts now, it's for the best."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She sniffed.

Daryl nodded. He was right, having a kid was probably the most selfish thing a couple could do. The thing wouldn't have a shot of survival, and it would grow up knowing nothing but pain and struggle.

He know the logic of what he was saying, but he still couldn't deny, that in the darkest corners of his mind, he'd though of a few baby names.

Maybe even a few names of states.

Like mother, like Daughter he supposed.

What a fucking stupid dream. He could never have it. Like Parish had said. He sure as fuck didn't deserve her.

* * *

><p>Parish peeked back through the door, and saw that they couple hadn't moved since Miss Hollywood had broken down. He was a terrible eavesdropper, and Pat had always chastised him whenever he'd been caught. But now, well he was just glad that he was so damn good at it. The awful little redneck had a heart.<p>

He didn't love Nia, Beau's well explored ass.

But, he did make a good point about the bringing a baby into this kind of world. In fact, Daryl had been downright logical. That was great…

Daryl looked down at the other pregnancy test in his hand. Yeah, Daryl had been right…now…what was he supposed to tell that police officer's wife?

* * *

><p><strong>Thank yous!:<strong>

**Viktorskrumpet: I couldn't resist the drama! Beauregard Parish demands drama to entertain him, and he is hellbent on getting what he wants! I'm glad you liked Daryl, and I hope that Daryl likes the people I keep sticking him with! X) Muhahaha! And uh, I'm super glad that I escaped this weeks lynching…hopefully I stay that lucky!**

**XXBXx: Oh, I can't see them being very good parents xD Daryl's too redneck, and Nia's too drugged all the time. They're kinda…really fucked up xD I think they got lucky. **

**Witchbaby300: I'm sorry it wasn't positive xD but there were a lot of people who seemed to think that a pregnant Cali…was a deadly Cali x) thanks for the review!**

**ROSESsecret: Well, that should make them a little closer! :D I hope that's kinda what you had in mind! And yes, things shall be getting rocky!**

**CheshireGrinn: Ask and ye shall receive! ;] and thank you! I wouldn't say awesome lol, but I do have mercy!**

**Willow: HAPPY FUCKIN' BIRTHDAY! ;DDDDDDDDD I'm glad that you were able to get that on your birthday! And it's good to fuckin' hear from you! I thought we had lost you!**

**LucyFreebird: I hope that was something you were thinking of along the lines! I realize this was based on your previous review, but you know. Better late then never!**

**AzkadelliaBlast94: I'm sorry it wasn't positive! But thanks for the review! :DDD**

**SarahLostInes: You know…your little comment about the walnut and the gluts….that uh…that distracted me for a while…in fact, I think I foresee a drinking game between the men of TWD…sound good? ;]**

**Halo!: is it bad that I measure my worth as an author based on weather or not I can make you react at work? X) yeah, I knew when I wrote that chapter out that Parish's little rant was going to be a headliner. I was laughing myself when I wrote it! So, I expected some losing of shit with it! Dale, the chessboard, and the ship walker will all be explained soon!**

**constantlylost: oh I know right? It's fabulous!**

**ChildlikeEmpress: Hahahaha Nia wishes Daryl would forget a lot…a whole lot ;]**

**Itspeanutbutterjellytimex3: I kinda love him too x)**

**Willow the Collie: You know, I kinda feel back! And yes, with Daryl and Cali, when in doubt? Scream! They're just so perfectly dysfunctional! And I think you're right, when Daryl's worried, he looks like the type who would yell…loud and rudely!**

**1775: Awh, you no likeo mi boato? Lol it's alright, really! You still took the time to review, which rocks! And honestly, it's all good. I'm glad you like the story!**

**A: Parish looks popular! I'd best not kill him off! ;D**

**KitKat83: Yes, Cali's awful indiscretion attacks once more! She's still paying for hooking up for Glenn!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's note!: Well, here's my usual apology lol. Sorry guys, you know work sucks, and my boy's not really making things much easier. **

**So there was that, and I now work 40 hour weeks…so I've been pretty busy xD but I haven't forgotten you lovely people! Plus senior year…and all this other dramatic bullshit, but anways, here you go! Sorry, this one sort of explains everything. **

**Oh, and in the last chapter, I had a HUGE typo that probably confused you guys huh? Okay, Daryl hadn't been the one holding the pregnancy test for that cop's wife xD that was Beau…and I guess I just had Daryl on the brain ;D**

**Fudgebuckets…anyways back to work right?**

**So here you guys go! Some answers to questions…and all that jazzy jazz!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TWD, as per usual. **

Chapter 16: The Guardrail Will Take You Home

Cali yawned, and stretched over her fluffy bed, and hissed in pain. Her one comfortable bed in _forever_, and she was forced to stay in one position, and take deep uncomfortable breathes so she didn't get even sicker.

_It's a great thing I wasn't pregnant, there's no way that I could have a kid, and continue to be the camp punching bag. _She snorted mentally.

With a deep bracing breath, she rolled over and faced Glenn across the room, who was sprawled out on his bed sporadically, and she felt a wave of envy. Bastard got so sleep with half his torso hanging off the bed. No to mention he snuck in all sorts of late last night smelling like smoke and a coconutty perfume that Cali found familiar. Guess Glenn had a better first night the she did.

A much better first night…but her night hadn't been hard to beat. A pregnancy scare and the small blow to her heart that she wasn't a mommy. And the tee-tiny blow to her ego that Daryl didn't love her.

He'd been right when he'd said the smallest fucking thing would wake her up, including Beau opening the squeaky door that lead into his office. She'd heard that entire conversation, and only intervened when she felt Beau might actually hurt her Redneck.

Respectively, She also wasn't that surprised. Daryl wasn't exactly a 'lovey-dovey' type human being…or even a 'likey-tikey' type person…but still! She had been sure that she'd at least been tolerated a little bit more then everyone else…because seriously? She fucked him. That's got to get her points somewhere!

She scowled, and decided that her Inner!Cali was too much of a logical bitch this morning, and she needed some company.

Cali reached for the black pumps she had kicked off last night, the same pumps that had been bounced off either Daryl or Beau's head last night.

And they thought she wouldn't be good with a gun.

She gripped the shoe, took a stiff breath, and let the shoe fly.

"Ow!" Glenn jumped, and fell off the bed, onto the floor followed by several snaps and pops. "Ow!" he growled, and looked at Cali with an incredulous look. "What the hell?"

"Oh! You're up! Lovely!" She smiled. "How did you sleeeeeeeeeeep?"

"Cali…"

"You know, you're right! I know how you slept, I was right here. So what'd you do last night?"

"Prying much?" He growled. Cali only gave a brilliant smile towards her best friend.

"Well?"

"Nothing much, got to know the ship."

"Oh, is that all?"

"…I hung out with that Avery girl."

_And the perfume mystery is solved. _

"Oooooooooooh really?" Cali wriggled her eyebrows at him. He rolled his eyes.

"We were near each other during that alarm. So we went into lockdown in a nearby room. Played War for like an hour. Then after the alarm, we just sort of hung out for a while. Nothing too interesting." Glenn sighed and righted his back. "What about you? How was the doctor?"

Cali bit her lip, and tried to decide what to share, and what not to share. "Uh, well…I broke like…three ribs. So now I'm stuck with all this damn deep breathing yoga shit. Then the doctor told me how not to be seasick…so, it was pretty good." She finished, feeling like a coward. But after having delivered the news of potential fatherhood to one of the potential fathers…she'd learned her lesson. She didn't really feel like another hour of venomous insults.

Although, she had to admit that after meeting Daryl, she'd gotten leagues better in the art of argument.

"Well, good thing you're okay. I have to head over there later today." He made a face. "I don't really like doctors…but I'm glad this place has them…could probably use a dentist though…"

"No one needs a dentist." Cali stuck out her tongue. "The dentist is for pussies who can't seem to handle a crooked tooth or two. Barely a doctor."

"Bitter braces patient I take it?"

"Six fucking years! Who wouldn't be bitter!" Cali rolled over and winced. Glenn just laughed and began to look for some decent clothes that might fit him.

He'd need to find a washer and dryer soon, because the idea of wearing some successful-at-suicide's clothes made him feel a little ill. Not as ill though, as the entire boat made him feel.

On land, Glenn didn't fear too many of the people he'd come across. He'd always had a place to run. Now though? He was constantly worried that something bad would happen, or that one of the passengers left would snap out of their dreamland and attack or something equally as awful. And he could dedicate his newfound paranoia to Avery, and her freak out over that alarm last night.

Something wasn't simmering the sauce quite right, and Glenn had decided to figure out what that was. He didn't need to involve anyone else, because he didn't want to scare anyone else. Not when he'd seem them all give an audible sigh of relief when they'd boarded the ship. So Glenn could only snoop around and hope for the best.

Glenn tossed his eyes over towards Cali, and noticed that her breathing had evened out once again, then he took into account the orange prescription bottle on her nightstand. Ah, looks like the new doctor was sympathetic to her pain _and _inability to sleep.

Too bad he probably didn't know that Cali popped those pills like candy. Something Glenn knew, because he'd been living with her for almost four months now. Eyes rolled, he grabbed a black t-shirt and headed for the bathroom. "Night Cali, see you next Thursday."

* * *

><p>Cali waited until Glenn had left before she slithered out of bed, and shuffled over to her bathroom. She brushed through her shower and pulled a brush through her hair, but her head kept racing.<p>

_You couldn't have been a bigger bitch last night._

She groaned, and realized that she had been just awful, and that meant something awful…she'd have to apologize.

To Daryl.

"Fuck a duck." She growled as she went over to her closet. She picked up the bandages from the floor, and wrapped up her ribs again, like Beau had shown her, and went to find as few clothes as possible. She was with Glenn on that one. She didn't wan to wear some poor dead woman's clothes. At least until she washed them.

She settled on a white tank top, and a tight black skirt. Jeans hurt her legs too much, because of all the damn bruises. She tugged those clothes on, rubbed on some eye makeup, and choked on some tooth paste.

She pushed the door open, only to find Daryl standing there already. He lifted an eyebrow as she held in a squeak. "Oh! Fuck, you scared the shit out of me!" She snarled. He smirked.

"Ya have no fuckin' awareness levels at all Nia."

"Screw you." She muttered, stepping aside so he could come in. "And to think I was on my way to find you."

"The fuck ya want?" was his charming answer, as she walked in. Cali took a deep breath, and winced as she remembered the state of her ribs.

"To…uh…to apologize."

Daryl froze mid stride and turned to look at her. "Fuckin' serious?"

"Yeah." She growled. "I was a massive bitch to you. More so then usual, and between me, and Beau and the Baby Drama, I think I could've cut you some slack."

Daryl smirked and leaned against the wall. "No need ta apologize Nia. Yer a bitch, it what I expected from ya."

"That's it!" Nia threw her arms in the air, and kicked Daryl right in the shin.

"OW! GODDAMN YOU PYSCHO BITCH! THE FUCK'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!" Daryl yelled, glaring at her.

"I'm sick of your condescending attitude!" she retorted, getting up in his face. "You were just as fucking scared as I was!"

"Wasn't fuckin' scared." He scoffed. She smirked at him.

"You so were. Just a scared little pussy."

She was pushed against the wall so fast, she hadn't realized it happened. Daryl had her pinned there, fire in his eyes.

"I ain't no fuckin' pussy! And I sure as fuck wasn't scared!"

Cali wasn't made anymore. Oh no, now she was just…

She broke one arm free, and brought it to the back of Daryl's head, and smashed his mouth against hers. Daryl froze for half a second, before he slid his leg between hers.

_This is how we get shit done_ Cali smirked as she slid her hands up Daryl's chest.

This is what she needed. Something to tell her that this huge fucking mess she'd fallen into wasn't her fault, and if Daryl wasn't going to tell her he loved her in words, then damn it he was going to show her.

Right fucking now.

* * *

><p>Dale was feeling just a little frantic. Always the early riser, he'd woken to the gentle lapping of the waves against the boat as the first rays of the morning sun had begun to grace the sky. It had the elusive title of 'Great Day' nearly won…but that was before he'd realized that he couldn't find his watch.<p>

The small gold band wasn't much, but it had been a present from his late wife, so he held it near and dear. But there was also something to Dale, about the passing of time he liked to observes, especially after the world went to hell. If anything at all had stayed the same, it had been time. Time truly didn't stop for any man, and it had more then proved that lately.

Dale himself, was a man of rituals. He had his very particular habits, and he absolutely hated deviating from them. So, when he realized that he'd lost his watch, which he always checked and wound first thing, he almost immediately went into panic mode. So with the title of 'Great Day' forgotten and beaten down, he'd begun retracing his steps.

Soon enough, he'd found himself back at the library, and the smell of old texts greeted him like an old friend. He felt some of his anxiety fade away as he made his way over to where he had chosen his novel. Finding the floor and shelves empty, he sighed and made his way over the chess table.

Regretfully, he'd left the library last night before he'd been able to finish his game and meet his mystery opponent. But, in a show of good form, he'd completed his turn before he had left. Expecting the move to have been responded too, he headed over towards the chess sets to look for his watch, and take a moment to retort.

What he hadn't expected was to be faced with a mess of cinnamon colored hair, and the back of a girl, with a long sleeved shirt on. Her shoulders were slumped and her head rested in her palms, obviously intent on the game.

"Well," He spoke, causing the girl to jump a little. "I suppose I've finally found my mystery opponent." Dale smiled as he took a seat across from the girl. She was on the paler side, and her eyes were the same color as her hair. She was plain looking, in a lovely way however. She was younger too, around eighteen or so. She gave him a smile.

"You're a tough guy to beat. I've thought maybe three moves ahead…but, it appears you have too." Her eyes bounced between her Rook and Bishop. "I'm not sure which path holds the least amount of casualties for my side."

"That's an interesting way to put it."

"Well, that's what this game is based on right?" She asked, hand suspended over pieces. "Two warring kingdoms?"

"I suppose you're right." He nodded. "By the way, can I ask your name?"

"You can." She smiled. "It's Blaine."

"That's quite an interesting name."

"It would appear I'm an interesting person, huh?" She finally chose to grab the Rook, and moved him so that she knocked out Dale's white counterpart. Dale began to study the board now. "And may I enquire your name?"

"Dale." He smiled.

"So Dale, you're a group of the new people right?"

"That would be correct." He nodded. "It's amazing to think that such a safe place exists."

A black knight fell.

"Are you so sure that it does?" Blaine lifted an eyebrow.

A white pawn fell.

"You're a cryptic little girl."

"I have my days."

A black pawn fell.

"Well, what are you trying to say? And please, be as blunt as you wish."

"If you're sure."

"I insist."

The white knight was cornered.

"This place isn't all sunshine and rainbows and crazy people." She sighed.

"How so?"

"Nothing here is real."

The white knight fell.

Dale frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It's no safer here then it would be on land. Those alarms aren't a programming malfunction, they're a warning. Get indoors or get thrown overboard for fear of Walker contamination." Blaine explained much to calmly and cool.

"The Captain said that the Walkers were completely eradicated from the ship."

The other white knight revenged his fallen brother against a black pawn.

"The Captain says a lot of things. Most of it is complete bullshit. He doesn't have near as much control as he thinks he does. He says that this illusion of a normal cruise is for the passengers, but in reality, it's for him."

A black bishop inched towards the white queen.

"So, there are still Walkers? How is that possible?"

The queen inched towards safety. Blaine frowned.

"Well, these are just conjectures mind you, but I have a few ideas. One, is that they're aren't any walkers…they're just part of the Captain's own little insanity trip. Or, and this is the one I'm leaning more towards, there are people, or one person, and they've stored a few Walkers on the ship."

"_Stored_ Walkers?" Dale asked, game becoming second priority.

"Yup."

"How would that even be possible?"

Blaine shrugged. "How is the existence of Walkers possible. I'm afraid I can't answer that. I can however, speculate, if you so desire."

The bishop backed off, rethinking it's strategy. "Well, do tell." Dale nodded as he struggled to create a new line of defense.

"Well, the Walkers are just masses of moving muscle, without the ability to die. Which means that things that would kill us, are just minor annoyances to them. Proof, they can exist underwater. They don't need to breathe. So, if there's a whole new set of physics to it, then it might be possibly easy to store them." Blaine leaned back. "I think they're freezing them. There's hundreds of freezers on this ship."

Dale thought about it for a second, it wasn't a bad theory, and she made a lot of sense. But, at the same time… "How do I know you're not just another crazy passenger?" Dale asked, mouth set in a grim line. Blaine nodded approvingly.

"You have no way of knowing that. But, I am glad you don't take things at face value. That's why I wanted to talk to you. You may be the oldest of your group, but you're obviously the wisest. So, I'd like you to thoroughly consider what I've said."

"Why are you sharing this with me?"

"Because," Blaine tugged on her sleeve. "You obviously love your family, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to them. The people on this ship only look out after one another. I thought you deserves a fair start." She brought her thumb nail up to her mouth, and she began to look her age. "Besides, if my family ran into someone that could help them, I would want them to be helped."

"Your family?"

"My brothers, and their girlfriends." She answered with a smile. "I love them to death."

"Where are they?" Dale frowned.

"Boston."

"Big city. You worried?" Dale felt bad for the girl, and was expecting some tears, or a runny nose.

Instead, the girl snorted.

"No, I'm not worried at all. My brothers, they know their way around guns." She gave him a wide grin.

"Your faith is impressive." Dale noted. Blaine smirked.

"Right now, it's all I got." Blaine reached over the table, and knocked over the queen. "And right now, all you've got is your faith in me."

**Sorry it didn't have very much! It was more of a build up chapter…lol**

**Thank yous!: **

**Willow: Hey! Sorry for the whole, distracting you from sleep thing! But I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Viktorskrumpits: You're very welcome, and yeah! I don't see Daryl getting super excited…and picking out onesies with a proud 'I'm Gonna Be a Damned Daddy!" So he was pissed…very pissed. Lol xD**

**LucyFreebird: You'll get some Daryl/Nia next chapter! I promise!**

**SarahLostInes: OMG that video made me crack up, and what's even better? I MET THEM THAT SAME DAY! :OOOOO**

**MyMissingHalo: I love your reactions, but on dear lord Halo! Don't choke and die xD that would make me feel awful! I don't wanna be surfing English News and see that a local dies with computer open to fan ! I'd feel soo sooo bad! XD hope you enjoy this!**

**Constantlylost: Beau kicks ass, I love him a little too much!**

**XXBXx: I'm glad you liked it :DD**

**Willow the Collie: LOL little Willow, I always love reading your reviews. And seriously, Lori screws everything up!**

**ChildlikeEmpress: Ah the secret softness in Daryl's mind!**

**ChesireGrin: xDDDDDD I'm so glad you caught that! I didn't think anyone was going too!**

**Nelle07: Thanks!**

**ROSESsecret: You're too kind!**

**Yodes: Thanks :D I'm glad!**

**Aku15: No xD that was a typo. I swear. **

**ISolemmlySwearI'mUpToNoGood: Christ love, your name's a mouthful lol. And of course she heard it ;] and I'm so so so so so so sorry it took so long to update, and when I finally did, it was this rubbish. Lol, I'll do better next time, I swear!**

**Gurl3677: not done, lol. Just slow**

**Jac Danvers: Awh, thanks love!**

**Azalia: You think they'd make good parent huh? Hmmm…**

**Musicforsanity: hahah thanks! Cali loves your love!**

**So guys, Do you want Beau to become part of the pack? Because things are going to get intense soon, and I don't know who lives and who doesn't! so let me know who absolutely CANNOT die! **

**Love you little zombies!**

**-Eris**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: LITTLE ZOMBIES! I'M BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER!**

**CAN YOU SAY 'HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE!' :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD**

**But enough about me, tell me about you! How is everyone! Still amazing, I hope.**

**I know, I know, you're all pissed that it took so long to get this out here…I know…**

**Buuuuuuuuuuuuut…if it helps…there's Smut in here! Lots and lots of Smut actually.**

**And Lo and Behold! I actually have a Plot working now!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD, even though they keep stealing my shit. And this chapter has sex, violence, and bad language.**

**SDST: My special thanks goes to Kazzthe13th, for helping with my Smut, and TripleLLL for helping me with my plot. **

**It's gonna get fucking gruesome guys. Hope you're as excited as I am!**

**Peace love and pixie dust!**

Chapter 17: The War Outside Our Door Keeps Raging On

"Baby, for the last time, I swear you don't give off a gay vibe." Lori smiled and stretched out on the chair by the pool. She and Rick were watching Carl and Sophia while Carol took her turn in Dr. Parish's office, which Rick was still reeling from.

"He called me Officer Glam…" Rick glared at her. "And he seemed actually shocked tha' I didn't respond to his advance."

"Well, I don't know, you do kind of look like Jake Gyllenhaal in that _Brokeback Mountain-"_

"Actually, I'd say he was more of a Jamie, from _Scenes of a Sexual Nature_." Dr. Parish and his sun kissed skin joined them on the pool deck. Rick turned bright red, while Lori just smiled and enjoyed her view. Parish was way too attractive to be wasted on the men who wouldn't appreciate him. His smile was boyish, and that blonde hair was just perfect.

"I could see that." Lori agreed. Then, she shamelessly checked out the doctor in front of her. Much to Rick's annoyance. "You look like that blonde brother from the _Boondock Saints_."

"Ah, why thank you. You know, the blonde one was definitely the hotter one."

"Well now, someone thinks they're special." Lori winked and Rick rolled his eyes.

"Well, what do you think Rick? Which one's hotter?" Parish looked over at the officer, who wished he could be anywhere but here.

"I thought Eunice was hotter than those two." Rick spat out, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna go see if Shane…Shane needs a drink. I know Shane needs a drink."

"An' why do I need a drink there bud?" Shane asked from where he was leaning against the wall, a massive smirk on his face. Rick glared massive daggers at his best friend.

"Pick any mistake you've made." Rick spat. "_Any mistake_. We just need to go get a drink. And a drink now."

"Rick, dude, it's like ten am."

Rick grabbed Shane's shirt, and started dragging him away from the doctor. "We've started earlier."

Lori shook her head at the two men's exit and sighed. "I'm sorry about that Dr. Parish. Rick normally isn't so skittish."

"Oh I don't blame him. And he reacted better than your fellow with the mole did."

"Daryl."

"Right, Daryl. Now that's a delicious fellow." He winked at Lori, who only shook her head.

"I'm sure he appreciated that."

"Not as much as Miss Hollywood did, I'll tell you that."

"So tell me Doc, what was so important that you felt the need to search out me and my husband." Lori asked, staring into his green eyes. "Is Rick okay? Carl?"

"They're both fine-"

"Cali or Daryl then? How are they?"

"A little beat up, but they're both okay-"

"Oh no, is it Carol? Is she alright?"

"My God, you Southern Women are hard to talk to. It's like…I try to open my mouth and suddenly I'm swallowing your words. Damn, this is why I turned to men. They were silent, and spoke with their eyes. None of this chatter chatter chatter." Beau tossed his hand around. "Now, will you please listen to what I have to say? Because I really don't want to have to repeat myself."

"I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Thank you. Now, this is for you." He held out her pregnancy test. Lori looked at it confused, wondering why he brought this all the way out here just to give her a standard part of the-

Holy hell.

"Oh no." She mumbled, eyes never leaving at the plus sign.

"I'm afraid so."

"That can't be possible."

"It really is. I realize that the dead are up and moving, but that hasn't changed biology in the slightest. A sperm meets and egg, then boom. Baby." Beau smacked his hands together. "So that's where we are right now."

"What…what am I supposed to do?" She asked, eyes filling up with tears.

"My suggestion? You really need to buddy buddy up to Avery. She's the only one on the boat willing to get off the boat. She's mentioned a hospital supplies company warehouse on the shore. Whenever I run low, she'll grab me the basics. Now maybe, and this is a maybe, because Avery is a fickle little bitch and she sometimes doesn't like to do things for others. So she might possibly be willing to help you. Because, no matter what choice you make, my Skinny Little Twig, I'm going to need supplies."

Lori managed a nod, eyes never leaving the stick. Her hands started trembling, and she took a shaky breath. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"Do you want my professional opinion? Or my personal opinion?" Beau asked, leaning back in the chair Rick once occupied. Lori sighed.

"Both."

"Professionally, I would advise you to talk it over with your baby's father, and the two of you come to a conclusion that way. So the two of you can be on the same page and there won't be any bumps for your adventure either way."

Lori nodded, and ran a hand through her bangs. "And your personal opinion?"

"My personal opinion was stolen, I have to admit." Beau sighed and laced his fingers together. "By your delicious little redneck. And I do believe he said 'There's no way to take care of a pregnant woman, or to give her a healthy birth. It's putting two lives at risk rather than one. It jus' ain't right to do that. Even if it hurts now, it's for the best.'"

Lori looked up now, and stared at the doctor. "_Daryl_ said that?"

"I know. I was shocked too. Turns out, after an extensive medical test, that man does have a heart."

"…Why was Daryl talking about raising a kid?"

Parish's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. "Uh…that's uh…I can't talk about it…you know, that oath thing."

"Oh my God, is California pregnant!" Lori cried, attracting the attention of most of the people on the pool deck. Beau dropped his head in his hands. Oh, Miss Hollywood was going to kill him. No doubt about that, and once she was done, the redneck was going to take his turn.

"No! She's not! She's okay, seriously. She's just fine. Please don't ever speak about that again." Beau begged, and Lori gave another exhale.

"Oh thank God." Lori rubbed her temples. "At least there's that."

"There's always a silver lining." Beau assured the woman. "And whatever you decide to do, you let me know alright. I am willing to do whatever you need. My office is always open." He placed his hand on her knee. "But decide soon Lori, and make sure you talk to your sexy cowboy. He deserves to know. And as it turns out, hiding the pregnancy could very well end in a Maury like situation."

"Got experience?"

"I do love that California girl and that redneck."

* * *

><p>He was going to take off. She could tell. The arms that her fingers were still trailing as their tongues still battled over dominance were tense, and ready to spring. Daryl was going to try to run, just like he always did.<p>

But this time, Cali wasn't going to let him do that. She didn't really care what he was feeling at this point, loved her, hated her, she didn't give a fucking shit. Right now, she needed to feel something, anything that could keep her going. Right now, he was right where she wanted him, and she'd be damned if he was going to try to run again.

She let him pull away from their interlocked mouths, and she could feel him brace to push off the wall. Instead of letting him, she grabbed the front of his shirt to pull him down towards her, as her other hand slithered up to grab a fistful of hair and yanked his head back. He let out a hiss, either pain or pleasure, she couldn't tell, but it didn't stop her. She ran her tongue up the side of his neck, before retracing her movement, this time nipping her way up his neck. Daryl had a protest welling inside of his throat, but before she reached the halfway point on his neck, his protest turned into a very involuntarily moan.

Cali smirked against the skin of his neck, before pulling back and bringing his mouth back to hers, and pushing him away from the wall. His put up resistance, but she wasn't having any of that. She finally released his shirt, and his hair, and trailed her way down to his belt. Daryl froze again, and she went at undoing the article of clothing. Her fingers worked fast, and she had the belt undone and slowly pulled it off of him, and she tossed it one the bed. Daryl grabbed her wrists, and pulled her closer. "What're ya doin'?"

A wicked grin spread across Cali's face. "I'm done talking."

She grabbed a handful of his old shirt, and pulled it off his body. Daryl didn't seem to know how to handle her new attitude. Cali grinned at him, and pushed him back onto the bed. He fell on his back, and Cali crawled on top of him. She reached behind him, and grabbed the belt, and threw it back towards the top of the bed, out of their way. She straddled him, and pulled her own shirt off, and let it drop next to his. Daryl's eyes shifted slightly, from Hunter, to Lust, and Cali knew she'd gained the upper hand. She brought her mouth back up to his, sliding her fingers tantalizingly against the hunter's arms, trailing her hands upwards, until their hands were palm to palm.

She slowly rocked her hips against Daryl's, and she heard the hitch in his breath. Eliciting a sound out of the man was hard, but Cali kept the motion going, until Daryl's hands reached for the headboard, and he held on tight. Swiftly, Cali took that opportunity to grab Daryl's discarded belt, and wrap it around his hands, and then she tightened and fastened it, before the Hunter, with his lust hazed mind, could catch up. Daryl tugged against the belt, before he shot Cali one of his scarier death glares. "Nia," His voice embodied fire, and Cali tried not to smirk. "Wha' th' fuck is this shit?"

"I can't ever seem to get you to listen." Cali explained, as she slowly dragged her nails down his chest, feeling the bumps of scars and tattoos change the texture under her skin. Daryl growled, and his teeth caught his lip, as her fingers trailed against his stomach. "So, I'm gonna make you listen."

"Mah arm ya stupid bitch!" He snarled, and Cali rolled her eyes.

"If it was that bad, you'd have it in a sling like Beau told you to have it."

"I'll kill ya."

"You'll be fine." She promised, and brought her mouth back down against Daryl's. Just like she'd expected, he kissed her hard, trying to gain an upper hand again, but Cali was in charge now, and she needed to be. For weeks now she'd just been pushed down time after time, and she was ready to be in control for once. She was ready to decide what happened.

Anyone that stood in her way could go fuck themselves.

Daryl picked up on the vibe, she was demanding, and she had decided the course of action. It was Nia's turn to be in control, but he just couldn't yield to the girl. He'd been raised to know that the easiest way to stay alive to was to be in control, to always be in control. There was no one he could trust to lead him, and control him, and still have his best interests at heart. He was the only one who could take care of himself. But the girl was making it damn hard, and she kept up the rocking motion against him, until Daryl was sure he was going to go insane. The bitch wanted him to ask her for it, she wanted him to beg.

"Fuckin' shit." He hissed out between breaths that were suddenly coming shorter and shorter. Above him, Nia swallowed a moan, and continued to work against him. She was going to fuckin' kill him. This damn girl was going to be the death of him. He just fuckin' knew it. "You fuckin' bitch."

"Keep up the sweet talk." Nia huffed out with a smirk. "Makin' me remember why I'm Team Dixon alright."

"Nia." He snarled her name out, and tried to free himself again. The girl in question only shook her head.

"Yeah Daryl?"

"Goddamn it." He hissed as she became more deliberate with her movements, and she finally let out a moan herself. For a fleeting second, he thought that he could hold out against her, but that just wasn't going to happen. He needed something, and soon, before he just fuckin' lost it.

"Just ask me Daryl." She murmured, and he growled.

"Fuck no."

"Ask me," she repeated, "And you can get what you want." She made it sound so simple, and it was. All he had to do was ask her, to yield to her, just fucking once, and he'd get what he wanted. A partnership, all she was looking for was a partnership.

"Nia." He moaned her name through clenched teeth.

"What?"

"Com'n Nia."

"Fucking what Daryl?" She snarled as her movement s began to affect her as well.

Oh fuck, she couldn't hold out much longer before she'd lose her own control and take that boy herself, but she held on to what little self-control she had. All she had to do was wait for him to say it.

"Oh fuck!" He gasped as his hips pushed upwards to meet Cali's body. "Please! Fuckin' please Nia!" He spat and Cali felt a smirk grow across her face.

Check and fucking mate.

"Sure baby," Cali cooed softly. "Whatever you want." She reached passed him, towards the little nightstand by her bed, and reached inside to pull out one of the foil packets Dr. Parish had insisted she leave with after her appointment. _Because if I had a man that looked like that, I want them._ He'd winked at her, then sent her on her way. Cali ripped the condom open with her teeth, careful to avoid the actual protection, and once it was free, she let it dangle from her mouth as her hips were replaced by her hands, and she worked Daryl's jeans open. The hunter only offered up a moan as she trailed the zipper down, but Cali shot him another grin over her mouthful of rubber as she worked the jeans off the man.

Cali took the moment to relieve herself of her own skirt, and her underwear for good meansure, before she slid Daryl's boxers off. Free, the hunter moaned again, although she couldn't seem to get him to shake the anger from his eyes. She only winked at him before she pulled the condom from her mouth, and slid it on Daryl.

"Awh fuck." He mumbled at the contact, and Cali crawled up to kiss him again. He didn't seem to be trying to beat the shit out of her now, but he was still pulling uselessly at the belt that held him down. Her tongue dance against his, and he bit down on her lip at the same time Cali lowered herself on the hunter.

Identical moans filled Cali's small room, and her nails dug into Daryl's chest. The hunter's teeth sunk into his lower lip, and they both needed to take a minute. Finally, Cali buckled, and she couldn't take the stillness any longer, and she began to ride Daryl.

A steady stream of curses spilt out of Daryl's mouth, but Cali couldn't even spit out one of them. There had been very few times she'd ever been on top in her sexual past, and it usually involved her partner being too drunk to disagree with her. Cali went out of her way to find very dominating men, men who would remind her exactly who the man was, but there was only so much of that a girl could take before she'd want to taste power herself. And, as she found out, being on top sober was so much better than anything she'd ever realized.

Her pace unconsciously quickened, and a moan made its way through her clenched teeth as her nails dug deeper into Daryl, before slowly sliding down his body. Daryl's lip was bleeding from the pressure of his teeth digging against them, and curse words still leaked out of his mouth, his own control gone as he met Cali's body thrust for thrust.

"Fuck!" Cali muttered, her first coherent word since she'd made sure this was the right decision. Her body seemed to be tensing up, muscle by muscle. She knew what that meant, and she couldn't decide if she wanted to prolong the experience, or go harder, deeper, faster and just fucking spill over and scream. She was still deciding when she felt her world flip on its axis and her back connected hard with the mattress beneath her. Cali's eyes shot open, and saw the incredibly smug face of Daryl looming above her.

"Jus' a tip, Nia." He drawled. "If ya gonna tie up a dog, ya gotta do it right. Don't want th' damn thing gettin' loose, do ya?" His hands traced up her arms, and she found her wrist being held down tightly. The smug look on Daryl's face still had lust etched into it, and the both of them were so damn close, he just didn't have time to torture her properly. Cali's eyes were wide, and she didn't look close to repentant, but she did almost look scared.

"Too late to apologize?" She huffed, and Daryl responded by slamming himself against her roughly, pinning both her hands down with one of his, while his other hand wretched her hair back, and he sunk his teeth against her neck, near where her last hickey had just started healing. Her breathing became more rapid, and her legs tightened around Daryl's waist and the man just picked up his pace. Cali tried to throw her head back, but the fingers in her hair held her in place while Daryl bit down harder around his moan, and Cali's back went ridged, and her body snapped as waves of pleasure pushed through her. Daryl followed soon after, collapsing on top of the girl, her wrists still held securely by his arms.

He rolled off of her and tried to catch his breath. Cali just wanted her body to stop trembling. Daryl looked over at her, and he still looked pissed, but he used his free hand to flick the brand new, slightly darker hickey that now adorned her neck. "Gotcha again. Still my little bitch Nia."

Never one to be outdone, Cali worked a hand free, and she grabbed Daryl's other free hand, laced her fingers with his, and held it up for him. Around his wrist were bright red marks, imprinted with the same pattern that was on his belt. He stared at his wrists, then back at Cali and snarled.

"Which one of us is the bitch here?"

* * *

><p>Dale sat across from his new friend, whose cinnamon colored eyes danced across the chessboard as she struggled to reclaim her slight lead. Dale's thoughts were scattered, and he believed that she'd be getting her lead back much quicker than she anticipated.<p>

"Your story doesn't make sense." He finally spoke as he moved another pawn.

"What story does make sense anymore?" Blaine questioned back. "But, what part of my story doesn't make sense."

"If there were Walkers stored on the ship…wouldn't they have been found already?"

"Oh, I'm sure they have." The younger girl pushed her bangs out of her face. "But, you've seen the way these people act. You see the empty stare and the way that they don't respond to the truth, when the lie is so much easier to latch onto. If one of the guests had found the Walkers, you can't bet that they won't say a damn thing about them to anyone."

"What about the crew?" Dale questioned. Blaine bit her lip on that one, and looked up at Dale.

"They listen to the Captain and the Captain only. If they Captain doesn't want them to see it, then they don't see it. Savvy?"

"Alright…but still…my main question is…why?"

Blaine nodded her approval and sat back in her chair, game forgotten as she crossed her legs and gave all her attention to Dale. "See, this is why I was glad that the ship took in your people. You still question, and you still care. Motive is so rarely questioned these days. It's simply tossed aside and we never hear about it again. But it's still the root of all problems, isn't it?" Blaine smiled. "It's human nature, even if the human is dead."

"What aspect of human nature are you referring to?"

"Well, it's greed all over. Even the Walkers, they're gluttonous creatures who think only of their next full meal, and intend to just eat away until they die. They don't have any other purpose, sure, but they're still greedy things." She paused for a second, and glanced out the window. "Did you know they'll fight each other over a meal?"

"Can't say I've ever seen that." Dale answered.

Blaine shivered, even in the heat. "They do. It was a small child, in the last wave of Death on this ship. I was hiding in here, and the child ran in here. He couldn't do anything, and one grabbed him, and started to rip him apart…then another one came in and tried to steal the boy. It was horrifying, like a pack of rabid dogs ripping each other apart. They boy lay forgotten at their feet, and he bleed out. Greed and gluttony. They just let him die there, suffering, to insure they could get a meal, that neither of them ended up receiving."

Dale swallowed hard. The Walkers on land usually never had trouble finding food…but in an enclosed area like the ship…well, certainly their mindsets would change, as would the mindset of any other creature. Dale explained as much to Blaine, and then he spoke again. "So, human mindset would change here as well. Where would the frightened humans go to run?"

"They can't run anywhere, at least, not physically."

"Which explains why this entire ship is living so far into its head." Dale concluded, and Blaine nodded.

"Yeah, that's the conclusion I came to as well." She smiled. "So, you have a ship full of terrified, mental people, and you're still sane…which means…"

Realization clicked in Dale's head so quick, it almost smacked him. "Power trip. That's why whoever it is has been hoarding Walkers. It's a massive power trip. No one would be standing up against him! He would have completely free reign over this group of people!"

"A serial killer of this new age." Blain nodded. "And no one will stop him, because in my heads of my people, no one even notices he's there."

"Do you know who he is?" Dale asked, and Blaine sighed and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. Whoever it is, they've completely integrated into the population. No one stands out as excessively crazy, yet no one is excessively sane either. It's a sociopath of epic proportions. He may just be too good to find." She pushed her bangs again. "However, it could just appear that my eyes are too adjusted to my surroundings. I have been through an amazing trauma with these people by my side, I've become slightly attached to them. I know he's here…but subconsciously, I may not want to find him, should he end up being one of my friends." She shot a crooked little smile at Dale. "Human nature."

"And this is why you approached me?"

"You have no connection to these people, and perhaps you'd be able to see something I have been unable to see. You have fresh eyes, and you have numbers. You have power, something I lack if I want to finally figure out how Death keeps finding its way onto this ship."

Dale nodded, thinking it over. "Do you have any ideas as to who this might be?"

Blaine shook her head again. "No one stands out to me. I've ruled out the children, on the basis that they wouldn't be able to control a Walker, even if they got it tied up. I've ruled out several women on that charge too, but there are still plenty who could possibly be doing this." Blaine sighed, and rubbed her temples, and finally, she looked her age. Just another teenager with a headache. "I just want you to talk to your leader, the one dressed like a cop. He might be able to read the people better, better than I could."

"Have you tried talking to your Captain?"

"Like I mentioned, he's as delusional as the rest." Blaine rubbed at her sleeved arm, and she seemed to shrink. "I just want to get back home. It won't happen as long as there are still Walkers here. I just want to go home Dale, I just want to see my brothers." Dale couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw tears lining the young girl's eyes.

This was tricky, she could just be crazy, like the rest of the ship, but Dale could feel in his gut that she was telling the truth. She wasn't trying to screw him over, or break up the group, or even hurt them. If anything, she was trying to save them. She was warning them of a great evil that seemed to live in the belly of this ship, and she didn't want their casualties on her hands. She had done what any good person would do, and she told them, she warned them.

She was going out of her way to help them. Dale could only be expected to return the favor.

"I'll speak with Rick immediately." He promised. "Would you wish to come with me? After all, he'll want to hear what you have to say."

"Sure." She nodded, her confidence slowly returning, but she still looked so sad and broken.

"So," Dale started, leaning back towards the game. "Tell me about your brothers."

Blaine snorted, and resumed her position over the chessboard. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

* * *

><p>His scarred hand gently caressed the misshapen face of one of his children, and he resisted the urge to pull away from the extreme cold. It had to be cold, to make sure the muscles froze, and the creatures wouldn't be able to leave him.<p>

One got out last night, but only because he wanted to see how the crew would react. It pissed him off, no one reacted. No one even mentioned the fact that there had been a Walker on board. It's like it just didn't exist.

At least he'd made a dent, he knew from his sister's bubbling that one of the Captain's men had fallen to the Walker…but he'd lost his Walker.

They would need to pay for that.

Maybe they all needed a wakeup call, one that they couldn't ignore, couldn't play off as something else.

He needed the chaos back. All of this order, it was too much of a lie.

He hated lying.

Before he realized it was happening, a set of teeth sunk down into the flesh of his hand, and the man groaned. He beat the Walker against the head until it released him, and then he walked away from it. Slamming the door behind him, he examined the bite on his hand. It wasn't very deep, and it was hardly even bleeding. Easy enough to hide, although, like with the other bites, it would probably scar.

No one would notice it though, except his sister.

Ever since she'd gotten her first bite, and seen the way it scarred, she'd become hyper aware of them.

Oh well, nothing he couldn't hide under his gloves.

Speak of sister…

He bailed from the freezer, and made his way up the decks, sliding his favorite fingerless gloves on over his hands and ran up to the top.

"Hey sis!" He called as he slid on up to her. "What's up?"

"You're late." She rolled her eyes. "You were supposed to meet me like twenty minutes ago. Remember?"

"Awh come on Avery! Don't be such a nag!"

* * *

><p><strong>Dear God, look at that! I actually have a plot forming now!<strong>

**Since this is usually where my thank yous go, but it's been such a long ass time, I'll just give a massive THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH! I LOVE YOU ALL!**

**Now, feel free to review? :DD**

**Love you Little Zombies!**

**-Eris**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: I can feel all of your hatred for me xD**

**Don't worry guys, it's just been hectic. I'm moving to Uni soon, and it's just been messy. I'm sorry!**

**But to help, this is a long mother fucker, and there's plenty of actions, and all the feels you could possibly ask for!**

**Also! I have a question! I see all these fics have 'Covers' now, and I think they're pretty cool, but I can't draw for shit. **

**Anyone out there interested in doodling out a quick pic of Daryl and Cali? :D I'd be willing to pay you with a one shot or two, topic totally your choice! I'd love to see this happen!**

**Anyways, this chapter is really long, but only because I honestly couldn't handle the idea of yet another filler chapter, so I plugged all the fun stuff into all of this chapter! Enjoy ALL THE FEELS OF THE DRAMA, BECAUSE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE BLOODBATH!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD, and this chapter has, swearing, blood, evil, dealings, lying and Jesus so much terrible things!**

Chapter 18: How To Fix Everything

When Dale and his new charge found Rick, he was screaming at his wife.

It wasn't totally obvious, but it was enough to give the older man pause. Lori looked stricken by something, and Rick just looked shocked, and angry. His body was frozen, but his eyes were enflamed, and if Dale didn't know better, it looked as though the man was angry enough to spit fire. Lori's eyes welled, and her chin quivered before she glanced behind Rick, made eye contact with him, and she dropped her eyes. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

"This is my decision Rick."

"No, it's not!" Rick snarled, and grabbed his wife's arm. "It's _our_ decision! Once you said 'I do', it became ours, not just yours!"

"Well," Lori growled. "It's a good thing that the old laws don't apply anymore." Rick stared at her, then behind him, and his face instantly dropped all anger and malice. Instead, curiosity masked his features as he granted the two a smile. "Dale." He nodded, then glanced at Blaine by Dale's side. "Ma'am."

Dale offered a peaceful smile, and Blaine raised her eyebrow. "Ma'am? Sorry Atticus, but you're gonna have to try that again."

Rick almost looked shocked, then he sighed and rolled his eyes. Dale could make out a muttering that sounded almost like 'great' and 'nother Cali and Carl.' Then he turned his attention back on his wife. "We're not done here."

"That's what you think." She spat, and then glanced down at Blaine. "You happen to know where Avery is?"

"Top deck. She's usually the only one up there." Blaine answered with a cocked eyebrow.

The trio watched as Lori's skinny little body stalked off, and then Rick brought his attention back to Dale. "So," He greeted them both. "I'm Rick Grimes." He held out his hand, and Blaine accepted it.

"Blaine Matthews."

"Pleasure."

"Pleasure's all mine." She grinned, and Rick smiled at her, then at Dale.

"So tell me Dale, I have a feeling this isn't a social visit."

"Please," Dale held up his hand. "First, are you and Lori alright?"

Rick's normally stoic face faltered slightly, and he shook his head. "She uh, she told me she's pregnant."

Blaine's eyebrows shot up, and Dale's weathered face stretched into a grin. "That's fantastic news!"

"Yeah, I agree." Rick sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. "If it weren't for the fact that she's hellbent on terminating the pregnancy."

"What?! Why?!"

"She doesn't believe that there could be a healthy delivery here, although apparently Doctor Parish told her he would be able to pull it off." Rick stared down at his boots. "Why wouldn't she want the baby? We're here aren't we? If she had to get pregnant, isn't it good that she got pregnant somewhere safe?" Blaine shrunk into herself, and Dale exhaled. Rick eyed his friend wearily. "What do you know that I don't?"

The young girl shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I'm not so sure this is a safe place."

"I'm listening."

"There's Walkers on board." Blaine answered, not willing to waste time slowly dancing around the topic until they were standing on top of it. The truth was always the best solution.

"Really?" Rick asked, obviously not willing to take Dale's new friend at face value. Rick wasn't stupid in the slightest; he'd noticed that a good majority of the folks on this ship weren't firing on all cylinders, even if they were pretty damn close to being sane. A teenage girl who believed in a Walker conspiracy theory was quite possibly the crazy one. "And what makes you say that?"

"There was an alarm last night." Blaine explained. "That doesn't always happen, and it's not once a month either. It's a warning to the passengers to get someone safe and secure, because there's something on the ship the crew doesn't want us to see."

"And you think it's a Walker attack?"

"No, not an attack. People would be pretty hard pressed to ignore that…but…every time there's one of those 'drills', someone doesn't show up to breakfast the next day."

Rick glanced from her, to Dale. "And I take it you believe her?"

"I do." Dale answered. "I realize it's all circumstantial, but…the Captain was adamant that they couldn't change the ship's programming to stop the monthly alarms…yet they changed the programming of the engines to run at the lowest possible amount of power? It just didn't seem very likely."

Rick took that in, then he looked to Blaine. "Who was missing from breakfast today?"

"Crew member." She answered. "I think his name was Jonathan. The crew eats first, but I usually squeeze in with them, grab my food and bail. Everyone here is kinda…spacey for me. But today, Avery was talking to the other crew member who was usually with Jonathan…and she was freaking out. She's pretty close with the crew, that's who takes her on land. I think Jonathan died last night."

"And you think it was a Walker attack?"

"If he had gotten sick, he would've gone to Parish." Blaine explained. "I could be wrong, and all we'd have to do was ask him. It'd be a yes or no." She took a breath, and looked past Rick, towards where all the kids were at the pool, including the Carl and Sophia, who were taking turns trying to score in Water Basketball against Glenn, who apparently had been on his school's swim team, as he was impossible to catch in the water. "There aren't a lot of us left, and you get pretty good at memorizing faces. There have been missing faces Mr. Grimes and I don't think they could just disappear. It's a ship, you're either on deck, or you're off deck."

Rick leaned against the wall, and considered her logic. It wasn't as if it was flawed…it was just incredibly unlikely. Then again, the dead were walking the earth, and his wife was suddenly screaming for an abortion, and damn it, their early riser Redneck was sleeping in. Maybe something was wrong. "Alright." Rick nodded. "We ain't here because we didn't question anything after all. Where do you think these Walkers are Miss Matthews?"

"Logic dictates a freezer." Blaine answered, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "It's the only thing I can think of that would be able to hold a Walker…possibly immobilize them. Dead or not, flesh is flesh right?"

The two men stared at her. "Where'd you find Sherlock Holmes?" Rick asked Dale.

"Library."

"Naturally." Rick responded.

Blaine blew her hair out of her face and rolled her eyes. "Can we like, focus please?"

"So we need to check the freezer." Rick clarified, and Blaine nodded, but then she frowned.

"Yes…but you're going to want to do it without arousing the suspicion of the rest of the ship. They all might be slowly losing their grip on reality, but you can guarantee they've all got a watchful eye on you."

Rick nodded, and considered his options. "Well, they sure can't watch all of us." He gave a small grin, and turned to the pool. "Glenn! Stop beating on those kids and come talk to me for a second."

The sopping Pizzaboy pulled himself from the pool, and padded over towards the small group. "Hey," he grinned. "What's up?"

"Glenn, this is Blaine." Rick introduced. "Sherlock, meet Watson."

The short, cinnamon haired girl smiled at him, and Glenn bit his lip. He had a very, very bad feeling all of the sudden.

* * *

><p>Avery rolled her eyes and gave her big brother a very pointed look. "Come on Jackson. I hardly see you as is, can't find time to hang out with me?"<p>

Jackson, her brother, only held up his gloved palms in surrender. His reddish brown hair matched hers, but he was at least a foot taller than her, and had their mother's brown eyes, while Avery had her father's blue. "You come on Avery, I was just taking my time. You know, enjoying life."

Avery scoffed and rolled her eyes. "What were you doing that was so important?"

"Just hanging out with some friends." He explained. "Nothing that would concern you, little sister."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "I'm playing cards with the crew tonight. You wanna come?" She grinned at her brother, piercing traveling with her lip to complete the smile. Jackson stared at her for a second, before nodded.

"Alright, alright." He acquiesced. "Just stop the puppy dog face girl. You'll kill me here."

"Yeah, well." Avery laughed and shook her head. "How else am I supposed to stand up to you? You're so eloquent. I still can't believe you convinced me to let you read my diary that one time."

"How am I supposed to protect you if I don't know what you're doing!?" Jackson argued, laughing with his sister. Avery smiled, and hummed happily to herself. It was amazing, how she and her brother could be trapped in such a small place, but could be so distant lately.

The two Wyland siblings sat and cheerfully stared off into space, across the ocean towards where land would be. Avery was constantly on land, to the shock of her parents and brother. She kept trying to get Jackson to go with her, but the boy was so scared of Walkers, he'd probably end up getting them killed. Unconsciously, Avery slowly trailed her fingers under the her shirt, down near her hips, where the puffy pink skin raised up against the rest of her smooth, pale skin. Jackson watched her movements with interest, before he looked back to the sea.

"Still hurt?"

"No." She answered. "But it hasn't settled in the slightest. Not even close. I'll never be able to go in just a swimsuit here without someone calling me out." She mentioned. "How's yours?"

"Oh, back of the leg is easy to hide when you're a boy. No one wears shorts anyways." He waved his hand, and her worry, away and sighed. "They are ugly though, you're right…but it's not like there's anyone here who you'd want to see you without shirt so-" When he saw the way Avery's face flushed red, her brother's face broke into a massive grin. "What?! I thought you said everyone here was too spacy!"

"We got new people a couple days ago…" Avery lifted an eyebrow up. "Don't you remember?"

Jackson's face was dark for a second, but when Avery blinked, her brother's face was back to the way it always was. Open, and slightly dopey. "Oh duh! But which one?"

"The Asian one. You know?" Avery grinned slightly. "He's pretty cool. When the alarm went off, he helped keep me chill." Her face fell. "Speaking of…did you find anything else out about those alarms?"

Jackson sighed. "Not a damn thing, to be honest with you Sis. Maybe you're wrong you know? Maybe there aren't any Walkers on this ship. I mean, that'd be kind of ridiculous."

"No there are!" Avery argued completely. "Skipper told me."

"Skipper?" Jackson raised an eyebrow. "Skipper, the crew drunk who spends more time in a bottle than on patrol? That Skipper?"

"Why would he lie about Johnny Boy like that then? What's the point of freaking me out if Johnny Boy just got sick? And for the record, I went to talk to Parish! He said he hadn't seen Johnny Boy since the skip had departed."

"Do you listen when you talk?" Jackson rolled his eyes. "You're looking for pieces that aren't even there."

"But-"

"Seriously Avery. Just let it go."

Avery opened her mouth to argue some more, but they heard the door to the deck open, and they both whirled around to face one of the new people, the skinny one who always had the little boy hanging off of her. Try as she might, Avery couldn't remember her name. The skinny woman looked at both of them and offered an apologetic smile. "I-I'm sorry, I was just hoping I could talk to Avery, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Jackson's eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down. "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry. My name is Lori, Lori Grimes. I'm one of the new passengers." She explained and Avery nodded again. That's what it was. Lori, she was married to the cop. Avery remembered now.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Um. Alone? If that's alright?"

"Sure. No problem." Avery gave a pointed look to her brother, before he rolled his eyes and left the two women alone on the deck. Lori looked down, before she looked to Avery.

"Dr. Parish said to go to you, because you're the only one who's willing to go on land?"

"Sure." Avery nodded. "For a price." Avery didn't expect these people to have money, but she sure as hell knew that charity would get you nowhere. Lori looked shocked, but she took it in stride.

"Yes. Of course." She nodded. "I need you to pick of some medical supplies. From the warehouse."

"Alright." Avery nodded. "Completely manageable."

"So…uh…what would that cost?" Lori asked, and Avery brought a finger to her chin while she thought.

"Nothing much, your first born son ought to do."

Lori looked horrified, and Avery busted out laughing. "Calm down, calm down. I ain't going to take your kid." The grin on Avery's face stayed there. "However…I know you all brought guns with you. I'm sure they're all hidden away, somewhere safe within the confines of your room, sure. But I want one. And ammo. I don't think my claim unnecessary."

"You're a child." Lori countered. "What could you possibly need a gun for?"

"You're a healthy woman." Avery spat right back. "What could you possibly need medical supplies for? If you were diabetic, you would be dead now. If you needed some kind of medication, you'd be dead now. It's survival of the fittest babe, so I have to assume you're fit. At least, fit enough to keep up with what you have surrounding you."

Lori frowned and shook her head. "Rick would never let me trade a gun."

"And my family would never let me go on land." Avery leaned against the railing, a content look on her face. "Sometimes, we don't tell the people we love the truth. It always works out for the better, if the lie is convincing enough."

"I don't like to lie."

"I don't like going on land."

"Maybe I'll just send Glenn." Lori frowned. "He doesn't try to get anything out of it."

"Sure, send Glenn. I'm sure he knows exactly which warehouse the medical supplies are in? And if he knows that, then surely he knows which ones are filled with Walkers too. I mean, that's obviously common knowledge."

"Where's your compassion?" Lori spat, and Avery laughed at her.

"Where's yours!? I'm no more than 19, and you're willing to send me off to my possible death, over medical supplies that benefit me in no way, shape or form. Let's be honest, I've got a lot more at stake than you do, my dear."

"I need those supplies."

"And I need a reason to get off this ship." Avery argued back. "So, unless you come back with a gun, you can just get sick, or whatever."

"Why do you want a gun?" Lori argued. "It's safe here."

"If that's the case, why do you all still have yours? I'm just looking out for my own here, same as you. But, unlike all of you, with your Saint complex and your misguided attempts to keep humanity alive, I'm not doing a damn think, unless it benefits me and my family."

Lori's eyes narrowed, and her stance became strained. "Who raised you to be this way?"

"The Walkers." Avery answered coolly, before pulling out her crushed packet of smokes, and lighting one up. "They're God now. Or haven't you noticed?"

"You're wrong."

"No, my little pet." Avery smirked through her smoke. "You are. You and your band of do gooders trying desperately to hold onto what little power they still possess, but you can't see that you're only going to survive if you do what must be done. The rules of humanity are changing, and I realized they've been in place for as long as time itself, but it's okay to let them change, you know. It's okay to allow yourself to think of you first and others after. It's messy, sure, and it's a dirty business. But it's the only market open now."

Lori's eyes remained trained on Avery, watching her movements as she brought the cigarette up to her lips to take another drag. It was a power play, sure but Avery was beginning to be unnerved by the intensity of the older woman's eyes. "Do we have a deal, or not?"

The newcomer only sighed. "I'll get you a gun. But you'll only get if after."

Avery smiled as smoke curled out of her mouth. "You don't trust me?"

Lori matched her smile. "You just spent the last twenty minutes convincing me not to trust you. I, however, am still living the way I was before. You can trust me, however, I'll be damned if I trust you. Bring back the supplies, and I'll get you that gun. And ammo. Promptly." Lori held out her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Avery considered, and rolled the smoke over in her mouth before releasing the cancerous puff into the air, and watching as it dissolved in the midday sun beating down on the deck. With a smirk, the younger woman slid her blue pained nails into Lori's hand, and shook. "You've got a deal."

"When can I expect you to return?"

"Are you worried? Well, I can tell you that I don't have such a booming business for my lovely personality. You'll get results. But if it is such a worry to you, make up a list, get it to me within the hour, and I'll get you everything you need, and be back by midnight."

"You really think you can pull that off?" Lori asked, eyebrows raised. Avery nodded.

"Of course. I'm efficient."

"How many are you going to take with you?"

"Just me myself and I." Avery answered. "I don't like to share my cut."

"Just you?! What about all the Walkers on land?" Lori argued, and Avery just dismissed her question with a flick of her small wrist.

"I'm not worried about them. Turns out, if you're quiet, they won't come after you. Besides, I smell like the sea, they won't even notice the difference. Never have before anyways." The young woman held out her hand.

Lori looked dubiously at the blue painted nails on her hands, and slipped her small hand into the girl's. She couldn't shake the feeling as the pierced smile stretched to Cheshire Cat levels, that she had just sold her soul to the Devil.

* * *

><p>Cali forced herself to roll onto her stomach, and she groaned. Suddenly, the rough and tough fun was catching up with her, and her body ached. Everywhere. Daryl, who was pulling on his belt with a pissy looking face, moved slowly too. He winced while pulling on his t shirt, pausing when he reached his arm. The perfect stitching created from Dr. Parish's obsessive compulsive needlework strained over the exertion of moving his arm, which had been suspended in the air long enough to cause an increasing pain. Cali watched as he tried twice to pull on his shirt, before she got up, and knelt down in front of him. She didn't say anything, just tilted her head. She was asking him permission to help him, and Daryl's head was spinning at Cali's transfer from Dom to Sub so fucking quickly.<p>

She still sat there waiting though, and he nodded briskly, and then looked away, unable to make eye contact with her as she helped him get his shirt where it belonged. "You act like I raped you or something." He couldn't see her, but he could hear the damn smile on her face.

"I feel a lil violated." Cali grinned when she saw the smirk on his face.

"Oh you're fine." She brought her hand down on the sore gunshot wound, and Daryl howled. "Take it like a man."

Daryl flew from relaxed, to having Cali knocked onto the ground, Daryl on top of her again. "Ya listen ta me real good here, girl. Ya asked me to take it like a man, an' I'll fuckin' teach ya what tha' means." His voice was deadly, and shot a jolt down Cali's spine, before Daryl was up on his feet again, leaving Cali breathless on the floor.

"So…are we good?" She asked, leaning her head back, staring at him upside down. Daryl shrugged.

"Why wouldn' we be?"

"I dunno." She answered, pulling herself up and throwing a shirt on over her bra. She reached for her jeans, and pulled them up and buttoned them swiftly. "We've had a rough few…how long have we known each other?" She grinned and Daryl scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"We pack up and carry on."

"Yeah." She smiled, and looked up at her Hunter. "We're gonna be okay, right?"

Daryl lifted an eyebrow, and shook his head, and sat down next to Cali on the floor of her room. "Why ya askin'?"

"I just want to make sure, you know? After Merle, and Dr. Parish razzing you yesterday about me, I figure I should make sure that we were honestly okay."

Daryl only frowned, and brought his good arm up to massage the area of the stitches, and Cali smacked his hand away, but brought herself to her knees, and starting working her fingers into the muscles of Daryl's shoulder. The hunter had to remind himself not to start thanking God right then and there. "Wait… ya were awake fer tha?"

Cali's hands paused for a second, but then they resumed working out the insurmountable tension that had built itself into his body since she'd met him. "Yeah, I woke up when he came back. Those doors dude, loud as hell."

Daryl stiffened. "Ya heard th' whole thing?"

"Yeah."

"So, ya heard-"

"Yeah."

"Ya know I don' mean anythin'…bad…by it right?" Daryl murmured, and Cali sighed.

"You don't have to love me," She whispered. "It's okay if you don't."

"Nia…"

"No, seriously. It's okay." She smiled, and pressed her lips against his shoulder.

"I jus'-"

"Daryl, seriously. We're good." She mussed his hair, before she jumped to her feet, and pulled him along with her. "Now come on He-Man, you need to find me food. Like right now. I'm starving, and I blame you for it."

"Me?" Daryl scoffed. "I wasn' th' bitch who went all _50 Shades of Grey_ on my ass."

"…You read that?"

"…"

"You kinky son of a bitch."

"Go fuck yerself Nia."

* * *

><p>Glenn followed the girl he was ordered to assist slowly, through the underbelly of the ship. Rick had been very vague, and his new friend hadn't said much. Honestly, Glenn wasn't even sure of what they were looking for.<p>

"So…uh-"

"Blaine." The girl smiled, and peeked down a hallway. "Come on Watson, coast is clear."

Despite himself, Glenn smiled. "My name is Glenn, if that matters."

"I know your name, however, my ego quite likes the idea of having a 'Watson'." Blaine admitted as she lead Glenn down yet another set of stairs.

"Well, Sherlock, mind telling me where we're going…" The young man paused as they hit the landing. "Or why?"

"You'll only think I'm crazy."

"Maybe I won't."

Blaine paused, and she inhaled deeply. Glenn followed suit, and his nose was filled with a plethora of scents. "We're by the kitchen."

"Great work Sherlock."

"Shove it." She frowned. "Where do you think they store all the perishable food?"

Glenn passed her, and followed his nose and ears eventually, to the doors that lead to the kitchen. Through the small window, they could see at least 10 people running around and preparing food. "There." Glenn pointed to the array of big silver doors that took up one of the walls on the kitchen. "We had the same freezers at the Pizza Hut I worked at."

"There's like…seven of them. Isn't that overkill?"

"Not really." Glenn admitted. "Isn't this cruise intended for waaaay more than two hundred people?"

"Fair point." Blaine narrowed her eyes. "If you wanted to get to those freezers without anyone noticing, how would you do it?"

Glenn had to think about that one. From his vantage point, it seemed like the only way to towards the sliver doors was from where he was standing. But, that answer was too easy. There was always another way. He watched the workers move for a little while. Two of them were chopping up food, yet another was barking orders. They had three on dishwashing detail, and another came from a different room, close to the freezers, holding a laundry basket full of rags. "There!" Glenn pointed to the worker with the rags. "He came in from a laundry room. I can see the dryer from here. But I'd be willing to bet almost anything that room has a different door." He paused for a second. "But still, getting in and out of the freezer…they'd probably notice."

"Unless they didn't want to notice." Blain murmured, and Glenn looked at her again.

"Why are we here? You trying to sneak a snack or something?"

"No. That'd be stupid." The girl rolled her eyes. "We're trying to see if there's Walkers in the freezer."

"…Walkers."

"Yeah."

"In the freezer?"

"Where else would you store an army of dead humans?" Blaine quirked her eyebrow up, and Glenn actually found himself speechless. "What? It's possible. Not sure you could call it _plausible_, but you don't seem like the type to nitpick."

"Don't you think you should have mentioned something? That could be, you know, dangerous?"

"No, I don't think it is." Blaine frowned. "If this is real, and God help us I hope it's not, then there would only be one freezer being used, and it'd be much colder than any of the other ones. So, we have a one in seven chance of being right."

"And if we do find them?"

"I'm honestly surprised you're not running away screaming."

"You ever put on a coat of Walker guts?"

"…Can't say I have."

"I can handle a freezer." Glenn assured the girl, and grabbed her hand. "Come on now, let's go find that laundry room."

* * *

><p>Lori peeked her head into her room, and reveled in the fact that it was empty. Quickly, she hustled over to the closet, and unzipped the black duffle bag that beautifully displayed POLICE in bright, vibrant letters. The guns stared back at her, and Lori decided that a standard Glock wouldn't be as missed as Shane's Mossburg, or Rick's beloved Python. She dropped the gun, and a box of ammo which would be missed no matter what she did, into her bag.<p>

"Mom?"

Lori froze, and turned to face her son, who stared at her quizzically. "Carl."

"What're you doing?"

"Just getting a gun for your father to clean."

"Uncle Shane already cleaned them. He let me help." Carl tilted his head, and Lori scowled.

"Well, would've been nice to let me know, huh."

"Since when do you care about the guns Mom?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Lori smiled, and shouldered the bag. She walked past her son, and pressed a kiss against his forehead. "And nothing your father needs to know about, if you're catching my drift." Lori stared pointedly at her son, who frowned at her, but grudgingly nodded his head. "Thanks baby." Lori cooed before passing her son, and turning out of her room.

And right into Cali.

Lori froze, and had to look away under Cali's pointed gaze. "Cali."

"You know, and this is just an ignorant college student's opinion mind you, but, I don't think pitting your child against your husband in whatever pissing match you and Rick are in constitutes good parenting." Cali all but snarled, and Lori noticed Daryl lighting a cigarette, leaning against the wall. The smoke only served to remind Lori that she needed to get to Avery, and get to her quick.

"Good thing no one asked you then, huh?" Lori snapped, and pushed past Cali, who rolled her eyes, but didn't get very far before she called Lori back.

"Hey! You forgot your list!" She called back, and Lori flipped courses immediately, although, so was too late. Cali's eyes were already scanning the list, and from the shocked, and plain sick look on her face, Cali knew exactly what those instruments on the paper were for. "You're pregnant?" Cali asked, and Lori saw Daryl stiffen on the wall too, a pained look crossing his face. "You're pregnant?" The younger girl repeated, and Lori sighed.

"Yes."

"And…you're trying to terminate the pregnancy?"

"It's the safest way." Lori argued. "Dr. Parish agrees with me. There's no way to take care of a pregnant woman, and a baby. Not in this world."

Cali looked sick at her words, and Daryl's eyes grew hard. Lori realized too late that she had just used the Redneck's words against him. The girl swallowed her words, and Daryl violently stubbed out his cigarette. "Com'n Nia." Her grabbed her arm, but Cali threw him off, and her eyes focused on Lori.

"You make sure this is what you want." Cali snarled. "But goddamn it Lori, don't fuck things up with what you already have. Leave Carl out of it."

"Cali-"

"I shouldn't have to tell you this." Cali continued. "And I'm constantly questioning how I can be better at motherhood than you." The girl turned and stalked off, hell bent on getting away from where she was. Daryl ran a hand over his face, and looked over at Lori.

"If it helps, she didn't mean none'a that."

"Oh she sure sounded like she did."

"Nia ain't exactly in a good place right now." Daryl shrugged. "She didn't mean none of that."

"I didn't mean to throw it in your face."

Daryl frowned. "She'll heal."

"What about you?" Lori questioned, and the hunter snorted, and shook his head.

"Lady, who were ya jus' quotin'?" He gave a rueful smile, then turned to follow Cali.

Lori felt a little worse, but the logic behind Daryl's words were enough to keep her going, list firmly in hand as she made her way to the top deck. Sitting on the railing, looking very much like Rose in Titanic, Avery sat on the railing, looking over intently. Smoke curling from the lit smoke in her mouth. "Avery?"

The head of red hair turned towards her, and she smiled. "Hey, Mama Bear."

"I have your list."

"Easy, easy. What about my payment?" Avery asked, and Lori frowned and tossed Avery the bag. The younger girl pulled out the gun, and opened up the box of ammo, making sure there was at least a decent amount given to her. "Alright Mama Bear, you check out. Gimmie the list?" She held out her hand, and Lori handed her the list, scribbled out in Dr. Parish's elegant scripts. Avery's eyes scanned the paper, and she grinned. "Sure. Give me like…six, seven hours top. I can get this to you, no problem."

"Really?" Lori asked, shocked. "That quickly?"

"I'm good at what I do." Avery grinned, and took another drag off her smoke.

"What about the Walkers?"

"They don't bother me," the girl shrugged. "Besides, if you aren't a total fucktard, the Walkers don't normally bother you."

"Well…good luck?" Lori offered the girl, and Avery snorted.

"Thanks, but I think you need it more than I do." Avery pushed past her, and started towards the door. "Hey, do you want me to grab you some condoms too?"

The younger girl's cackle, and a trail of smoke stayed behind with Lori while she leaned against the railing and cried.

* * *

><p>Jackson could sense something was wrong, and as soon as he saw that Asian kid, and the crazy girl from the library sneaking around the kitchen window while he cleaned dishes, he knew something was wrong. They were obviously looking for something, they were looking for him. He just knew it. So he carefully kept his eyes trained on them, and as the girl pointed towards the freezers, his fears were confirmed. That bitch was after his children.<p>

Fuck if he was going to let them get away with that.

Soon enough, they disappeared, but it wasn't long before he heard their voices by the laundry room, and his stomach dropped to his knees. They were here for them. That girl, she'd been onto him for a while now, but she hadn't had any proof. Anyone she'd tried to tell just brushed her off.

Discreetly, Jackson looked around the kitchen. It was just him and one other worker, so he made his decision. "Hey Earl, you wanna head back? I can take care of this."

"Really man?"

"Yeah, go for it." Jackson assured him, and silence covered the kitchen. Under their supposed guise of silence, the shuffling in the laundry room increased. Carefully, the dishwasher, snuck behind the giant dishwasher, and he waited. Soon enough, a brown head of hair peeked out from the laundry room, and the girl glanced around.

"I think we're good." She told the boy behind her, who took point, and reassured her that they were alone. After, he grabbed her hand and led her over towards the first freezer. Jackson smirked in the darkness, and shook his head. The boy opened the door, and Jackson used the noise made to hide his steps out of his hiding place. He froze as they entered the freezer to look around, and he dove towards the sink, and pulled out a knife, and slunk over towards the freezer door.

Soon enough, the boy came out, and the girl followed. She closed the door behind her, and Jackson flew from his hiding place, hand placed over her mouth and knife to her throat. She shrieked into his palm, and the Asian boy whirled around instantly. "Blaine!"

"Hey." Jackson nodded, and pressed the knife harder against Blaine's throat. A ribbon of blood trickled down her neck and dripped down her chest. Her cinnamon colored eyes were wide, but she didn't seem that scared. Her apparently zen made kid calm down as well.

"Hey dude, chill. We didn't mean to freak you out." The kid explained, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm Glenn."

"Hi. I'm Jackson." The knife didn't move from where it was.

"We didn't mean to scare you, we just wanted to check something about." Glenn continued to explain, and Jackson tilted his head.

"What were you looking for?"

"Just something that doesn't belong."

"Oh. Maybe I can help?" Jackson smiled.

"Would, uh, would you mind letting Blaine go?"

"Sure…sure…" Jackson nodded. "But first, I want to help you." Quickly, Jackson flew from Blaine, knife sliding across her neck, and had Glenn pressed against the wall, the door to the third freezer opened, and Glenn shoved inside all before Blaine could press a hand to her bleeding throat. Glenn hit the ground hard, and charged towards Jackson, who slammed the freezer door shut before he could get to him.

"What the fuck?!" Glenn yelled through the door, and Jackson held the door closed, and looked back at Blaine.

"Did I kill you?" He asked, and Blaine, although blood dripped from her fingers, only shook her head. Jackson sighed. "Pity." He deadpanned before reaching for her, and grabbed her by her hair and ripped her towards him. "It would've been easier that way."

"It's you." She snarled, and Jackson nodded.

"Yeah, it is." He grinned, and threw Blaine's head against the wall. She reeled for a second before slumping to the floor. Jackson took that opportunity to kick her out of the way, and he used her to keep the door shut as Glenn pounded away against it. It was useless, the 'emergency knob' on the inside had been broken forever ago. That's how Jackson made sure that nothing inside would get outside. So Glenn wouldn't be getting anywhere. It was too bad that he couldn't throw Blaine in there too, but sadly, he wouldn't be able to open the door without Glenn getting out. But it didn't matter, he had a different plan.

Jackson strolled over towards the drawer of kitchen utensils, and found himself pulling out some zip ties, used mostly to keep important boxes together, but they would do for now. He took a few, and went back to Blaine's slumped body. Carefully, he pulled her up, and sat her against one of the legs of a bolted down table. She moaned in protest, then tried to move, but he pulled her arms behind her, and he interlocked the zip ties to create a makeshift pair of handcuffs. Then he tightened them to the point of cinched circulation, and he set her back down.

"Let me out you mother fucker!" Glenn's muffled voice screamed through the door. Jackson only shook his head.

"I can't! You came for my children! They're all I have, and you know what? I won't let you take them. If you hadn't done this, then I wouldn't have had to do that."

"Let Blaine go then! She's hurt; you have to let her go!"

"No." Jackson shook his head. "I've been a terrible father, see, I haven't fed them in so long. I haven't had to, they've been so cold. But now I can feed them. And I'm going to." Blaine growled, and lifted her head, staring at him with bleary eyes.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" She mumbled, and Jackson smiled at her.

"I'm waking them up." He answered, and turned to the temperature dial all the way up to the warmest it could possibly be.

"Oh my God, Glenn!"

"Don't worry princess, you're next."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank You!:<strong>

**Nelle07: Hey! We missed you too! Hahaha! Glad you liked Nia's 50 shades thing!**

**SaraLostInes: And to my beautiful plot, MAY IT FUCKING CREATE HAVOC!**

**Klekje: Welcome to the family! On behalf of me and Cali, welcome to the fold, and I hope you're enjoying the balance between the violence and the love! And I'll keep your vote in mind, but I know who's dying and who's living, hope you guys agree with me!**

**Lucy Freebird: Oh Lucy, I know you loved the sex XD I figured that I owed you big time! Sticking with me so long, lol**

**MyMissingHalo:**

**HALO!**

**Awh, I'm glad you still love Beau, and I'm sorry there was a sad lack of him in this chapter :( I hope that the time we spent with what seemed like the lesser used characters was okay, but really, Daryl and Cali had so little to do with what's going on, but they'll be okay for the next chapter!**

**I'm sorry this took so long :( I had one hell of a block!**

**Forgive me?**

**Fluffiet: Little Willow!**

**I'M GLAD THAT YOU STILL LIKE MY STUFF! I'M GLAD YOU'RE STILL AROUND, OH MY GOODNESS!**

**Revenge will have to take a backseat. There's no other way. **

**Officer Glam isn't going anywhere! I'm sorry there was an intense lack of Beau in this chapter, but he'll back for the next one. **

**Smut…smut is fun lol. **

**Awh…Fluffy, thank you so much! You bring a tear to my eyes!**

**TripleLLL: Angel! I know…I need to give you more chapter, I'm sorry it took so long! But I'll make sure that this picks up enough to possibly end before season 3!**

**Lilac Wolf: No worries! Not Beau ;D**

**PlasticCandy: YOU! **

**You should update, I mean seriously!**

**Guest: FUCK YEAH CALI'S GONNA RIP THE DAMN GOVENER APART!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Oooooh, so many still reading! Oh Happy Day! And yes, I am currently updating from my brand new dorm room! I have to say, it's been a weird few days, but I'm sure most of you can relate. I'm homesick something fierce, but I'm pretty happy to be where I am too. It's a weird feeling, but I figured, if I can't be with my friends at home, then at least I have my friends here! Cali, Blaine, and Avery are always willing to chill, so let's hope they feel like partying!**

**Tell me readers, what was your Freshman Year of College like?**

**And finally, shit gets real. **

**Fun Fact!: For this entire chapter, I bounced between a few songs, all of them off the Hunger Games album. **

**Safe and Sound- Taylor Swift Ft. The Civil Wars**

**Abraham's Daughter- Arcade Fire**

**Come Away to the Water- Maroon 5**

**Kingdom Come- The Civil Wars**

**It. Is. So. Fucking. Good. **

**Ah, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer!: I don't own TWD, and this chapter contains swearing, violence, character death, and all that delicious stuff. **

Chapter 19: Come Away Little Lamb, Come Away To The Slaughter

"Blaine!" Glenn screamed, and pounded his fists against the door, which resulted in a loud clank, but not much else. "Blaine! Are you okay?!"

"I'm okay." The voice that responded was quiet, but controlled. Glenn felt himself give a sigh of relief, and he steeled his nerves. If she wasn't screaming, then she wasn't hurting. She wasn't dead.

"But she won't be." That dishwasher, Jackson, chimed in. His voice was disgustedly cheerful and he delivered his words in a sing song cadence that seemed to echo through the freezer Glenn found himself trapped in. "Neither will you, actually, in a little while. Once it gets warm enough…well…"

The silence was enough to stop Glenn's merciless pounding against the door. Right now, the freezer was colder than anything Glenn had ever experienced in his life. But, if Jackson was serious…if he had touched the dial…for the first time, Glenn chanced a look at his surroundings.

The freezer was entirely bare, no shelves adorned the walls, and there wasn't a sign that food had ever actually inhabited the area. There were a few loose chains haphazardly tossed across the floor. Then, lined up against the wall, were four Walkers. They seemed frozen in time. Some were mid scream; others looked as if they were patiently waiting for the heat to come back. None of them were held by chains anymore, but their limbs were frozen as if they were still fighting against their restraints. As if that wasn't fucked up enough, what really gave Glenn pause were the Walkers themselves. They still looked mostly human.

The three men had their eyes close, and aside from random patched of decay that marred otherwise perfect skin, they looked as if they were sleeping, they looked as if they were alive. They didn't match the death that slowly ate away at their skin. Hell, the youngest of the men, maybe 17, still had braces on his teeth. However, there were still chunks of flesh dangling from the surgical steel braided across the boy's mouth that brought darkness against the innocence of his face. The other two men were older, dressed nicely, and aside from the hallows of their cheeks being gone, and the taller of the two men missing an eye they looked completely human.

The woman on the far left look in as good a shape as the men, only her eyes were open. What once must have been beautiful eyes were now a milky yellow, her pupils almost nonexistent against the unnatural eye color. The whites of her eyes were a vibrant red, as if every blood vessel in her eye had popped at the same time. Her lips hadn't disintegrated yet, but they were pale, and chapped to all hell. What looked like dried blood cascaded down against her neck and chest, her mouth slightly open, as if she tasted prey in the air.

Walkers were terrifying on a good day, but these looked so human…so real, that Glenn felt slight stirrings of pity inside of him.

"Let us go!" Blaine's voice brought Glenn back to the door. "I'll start screaming, and how exactly are you going to explain this?"

"I won't have to." Jackson's voice returned, much louder than before. Glenn figured that he was right outside of the door. "Yeah right. You know better. Unless these people want to hear you screaming, they won't hear a damn thing you yell." By Blaine's silence, Glenn figured he must be right, and the severity of the situation hit him right in the face. Once it got warm enough, it would be game over for Glenn.

"How sure of that are you?" Blaine spat, and Jackson chuckled.

"Sure enough. The kitchen won't get busy again for a few hours, by then, the boy in there will be nothing but a pile of bones, and my newest pet. Then, I'll come in early, and toss you in there myself. And when the other workers hear you scream, and the wet sound of your blood being spilt echoes throughout the kitchen, they won't even blink." Jackson's voice got fainter as he started walking away. "Don't worry Blaine. No one will miss you."

Glenn let a minute slip by, with no word from the madman, and he chanced speaking. "Is he gone?"

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

"My neck is bleeding." Blaine admitted. "Are you?"

"I am." Glenn swallowed. "For now."

"Don't worry." Blaine assured him. "I'm working through something."

"What do you have?"

Just barely, he could hear a frustrated sigh escape Blaine's lips. "I don't know. I can't see your situation. I don't know how to help." She waited a beat. "Are they in there?"

"Yeah."

"How many?"

"Four."

"Gender?"

"Three men, one woman."

"Are they restrained?"

"It looks like they were at some point, there are chains on the ground."

"Enough to restrain them?"

"Only one." Glenn admitted. "It looks like they were brought in, one at a time."

"How the fuck is that possible?" Blaine growled. "Okay…I'll get you out."

"How?" Glenn asked, hoping he didn't sound as scared as he felt. He heard a low chuckle.

"Don't worry, okay? I'll get you out."

"I ask again…how?"

Blaine didn't answer him then, and he pressed his ear to the door. With a sickening feeling, he realized that he couldn't see his breath anymore. "Oh God, Blaine?"

"Hold on Glenn." Her voice sounded choked and strained.

"I can't see my breath!"

"Are they-ah!-are they moving?" She ground out, and Glenn looked behind him. The men hadn't moved, but when he looked at the woman, he saw those fucking milky eyes blink at him curiously, but she wasn't advancing him yet.

But she was getting there.

"Fuck one of them is! Blaine help!" Glenn shook as his fist pounded against the metal door.

He only heard a choked sob from the other side of the door. Glenn panicked, and dove for the chain. It was't an ideal weapon in the slightest, and he wasn't even sure if it would kill them, but it was his only chance. He kept his eyes on them, and as the woman began to move her neck, the eyes of the youngest male opened too. He immediately snarled, sensing how close his next meal was.

"Blaine!?" Glenn cried on final time, and between the growls of the Walkers, he heard an incredibly loud popping noise and a scream from the girl behind the door. But he didn't have much time to think about that, because the other two Walkers had woken up, and the woman was beginning to move. Glenn backed against the door, and clenched the chain tighter in his hands. The woman looked him right in the eyes as she headed for him.

Before she could reach him, the freezer door opened, and Glenn fell backwards. His head flew up, and he saw Blaine, the sheen of sweat across her forehead, cradling her left hand in her right, close to her chest. Tears leaked out of her eyes and she focused on him. "Run! Come on!" She snarled through gritted teeth at him before she started for the exit herself. Glenn hopped up, and went to close the freezer door, but the woman was right there, practically salivating at him, and he abandoned his post. He ran to catch up to Blaine, who was taking the stairs three at a time.

Finally, they reached the deck that Glenn lived on, and they slammed the door behind themselves. Glenn collapsed against the closed door for a second, while Blaine dropped on her ass beside him. "How-How did you get the d-door open?" he asked, trying desperately to catch his breath. Blaine looked over at him, and held out her left hand. It was swollen, and the angle was completely unnatural. The zip tie was still cinched around her right wrist, and from it, hung the now vacant tie that had been around her left wrist. "You popped it out of its socket."

Blaine shrugged. "It was the only way." She closed her eyes, and tried to quell the tears still being produced, and the shaking that engulfed her entire body. "We have to warn people, we have to make them believe. There…he might have more."

"_More?!_"

"There were only four. He's caused too much damage to only have four." Blaine panted as she leaned her head back against the wall. "He must have seen this coming. We're in so much trouble. He's going to let them out, we're in trouble."

"How do you know?" Glenn asked, and Blaine only shook her head.

"He didn't kill me. If they were his only toys, he wouldn't have risked me somehow getting out and letting them be destroyed. He has more, and he's going to let them out. We need to go!" She ordered Glenn. He forced himself up, and then helped pull Blaine up, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he lead her off towards where they were expecting to find Rick.

Then, the screams started.

* * *

><p>Lori heard the screaming the same time as everyone else, and the reactions of those around her were instantaneous. The members of her group, Rick, Shane, and Dale, froze immediately, trying to pinpoint the source of the screams, while the people who lived on the cruise ship, they all stiffened for half a second, before returning to their previous activity.<p>

"What the hell was that?" Rick asked, and Shane sighed.

"What could it possibly be? Kids fooling around?"

"Rick," Dale interrupted. "Do you remember the conversation we had earlier?"

Realization dawned in the sheriff's eyes and he swallowed hard. "Where are Glenn and Blaine?"

* * *

><p>"My God, you're a baby." Dr. Parish rolled his eyes as Daryl fidgeted underneath the prodding fingers around his fresh stitches. Cali only smirked from where she leaned against the counter, half eaten pizza in her hands.<p>

"Maybe yer jus' a shitty doctor." Daryl snarled back, and Parish gasped.

"Bite your filthy little tongue!" He chided, and Daryl grew even paler, and barely suppressed the shudder that was working its way into his system. "I am an excellent caregiver, and everyone and their brother knows it. Oooh, that's right, your brother wouldn't know it, would he?" The doctor's tone was downright bitchy, and Daryl's hand clenched into a fist.

"Boys, you're both pretty." Cali assured them as she rolled her eyes. "There's no need for a bitch fit."

"I ain't no bitch!"

"You've good bruises on your wrist that tell a different story." Parish added, and wicked grin on his face, as Daryl's flushed red. "My, my, my, I never would've pegged you as a Sub."

"I ain't no-"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, I was a Sub too."

Daryl's death glare was directed to Cali, who only shrugged her response. "Man's got good taste."

"I fuckin' hate both of you."

"And I hate how you can't seem to follow standard direction." Parish sighed, and glared at Daryl. "You need to wear the sling. If you don't, you might seriously screw up your arm."

The hunter's eyes narrowed. "Ho' bad?"

"Well, you might not be able to get full movement back if you don't let it rest."

Panic flashed across Daryl's face for a second. "An' tha' would make usin' a crossbow-"

"-Virtually impossible." Parish finished for him. "Sling. Got it?" He took the string of expletives that followed as a confirmation. "Alright Miss Hollywood, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine." She answered, and before Parish could continue his follow up, a scream echoed across the ship. Daryl and Cali froze eyes flying to the door. Parish frowned, and watched the reactions of the two.

"What was that?" Cali asked, and Daryl's scowl deepened.

"Ain't good." He snarled.

"Yeah, didn't think so." She shook her head as she pushed off the counter, and inched towards the door. She brought herself up on her tiptoes to peek out of the window, when another scream cut through the silence, this one much closer. Daryl was about to get up and join her, when Cali immediately dropped to the ground, and motioned for the two men to do the same.

_Walkers_ she mouthed to Daryl, and both men tensed up then.

_How many? _Daryl mouthed back. Cali climbed to her haunches, and slowly sprang up to the window. She was face to face with blackened teeth and rotting flesh. "Oh fuck!" She screamed, and ducked as the Walker shoved its fist through the glass, but the damn thing reached for her and got a grip on her hair. It yanked her back up, and snarled. Cali brought her fist back, and let it fly into the Walker's face. As the shards rained down, Daryl lunged forward to pull Cali away from the Walker, and back towards Parish.

"Got anything?!" Daryl yelled at the doctor, who looked like he might've been in shock. "Hey! Dr. Faggot! Ya got anythin' or wha'?!"

"Scalpels, tweezers, scissors?" Parish shook his head. "Standard medical supplies." Daryl frowned. He didn't like that answer, each one of those damn things required him to be way more close range than he'd like.

"How the holy fuck did a Walker get on the ship!?" Cali asked, pulling small pieces of glass out of her arms.

"Ho' th' fuck we gonna kill it?!" Daryl snarled, and Cali looked around the room.

"Throw the fuckin' scalpel at its fucking face!"

"Do I look lik' a mother fuckin' ninja?! I can't do tha' shit!"

"Well, do you wanna walk up to it and stab it?!" Cali growled, wiping the blood off of her hands. Daryl opened his mouth to respond, but the Walker hanging in the window stopped growling, and hung limp, surgical knife embedded deep in his eye. Cali and Daryl looked at Dr. Parish in shock, and he only fixed his tie, and slicked his hair back into place.

"What? We all have our hobbies."

* * *

><p>Avery was piling her last box into the small rowboat that held Skipper in it, when they heard the scream travel across the water. The two looked at each other, and frowned.<p>

"What the hell was that?" She asked, and the old drunk took one look at the boat, and shook his head.

"You know what it was." He answered, pulling out his flask.

"Walkers?"

"Has to be. Why else would there be screaming?"

"It's not screaming, it was a scream."

"Give it five minutes." Skipper chuckled to himself. Avery rolled her eyes, and began to secure the supplies, when the screams started again, then multiplied. Her wide blue eyes met with the red eyes of the old drunk, who looked just as shocked as she did.

"We have to-"

"Are you crazy girl?! They're all dead!"

"That's my family!"

"They're dead!"

"Oh fuck you old man!" Avery growled and turned towards him. "Take me back. You don't have to get back on the damn ship if you don't want to, but for the love of God, you take me back there right now!"

The old man grumbled, but he complied, sitting the young girl down and pushing the boat away from the coast. Avery kept her eyes on the ship the entire time.

_Please…Jackson please be okay._

* * *

><p>Rick brought another Walker down with the knife he'd had on him, and quickly slid back into the cover of the shadows. Behind him, Carl and Sophia were huddled together, completely silent. Behind them, Shane sat, covering their back.<p>

Rick was still in shock, they had just come out of nowhere, and everywhere he looked, the oblivious cruise passengers were being ripped apart and eaten. None of them had known how to react, and now the creatures were having their fill.

"How many Rick?" Shane whispered, and Rick lifted his head up.

"Ten."

"Dad?" Carl whispered, "Where's Mom?"

Rick wished he had an answer for that. He'd lost track of Lori once the creatures had started flowing out, and he hadn't been able to place her since. "We'll find her son. But first, we need to get up to our rooms."

"Go man," Shane ordered. "I'll cover." Rick nodded, and he grabbed Carl's wrist, who grabbed Sophia's hand as well. Shane stood crouched, ready to sprint behind them. Rick held up one finger, then another-

Before they could take off, Walkers descended upon the small group, and before Rick could stop him, Shane flung himself towards the creatures, which immediately began tearing into Rick's best friend. Carl and Sophia screamed, and Rick stared in horror for a second, before he collected himself and began dragging the children away with him.

"Oh my God, Shane." Carl kept saying, over and over, and Sophia just kept crying. Rick pulled them through it though, and even though he could feel tears on his face, he didn't stop running until they reached the room Rick was staying in. He threw the children in, locked the door, then fled towards the closet, and pulled out his duffle bag with the guns in it. He ripped it open, and scanned the contents. "What the fuck?!" he growled to himself. He was missing a box of ammo. And a fucking gun. But he didn't have time to dwell on that. Instead, he loaded up each of the guns left, and he turned to Carl and Sophia. He handed Carl a small gun, and flicked the safety off.

"If _anyone_ who isn't from our group gets in, you shoot. Understand?"

Carl looked at the gun for a second before he accepted it. "Yeah. Got it."

"Do not let anything, or anyone in. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good." Rick started to the door, anger flooding through his veins. "I'm going to go find your mom."

* * *

><p>Once they reached Glenn's room, he brought Blaine inside, and locked the door. He led her over to his bed, and set her down there. "Jesus Christ this isn't happening." He mumbled to himself, and Blaine's eyes were glossy.<p>

"It's not possible." She mumbled. "It doesn't make sense."

"We'll figure it out." Glenn promised, and he looked around the room. It had to be around there somewhere.

"We have to get them off the damn ship." Blaine shook her head. "God, the screaming."

"Hey, you got me out, so I'm going to make sure we get you out. Okay?" He told her, and smiled. Blaine smiled back at him for a second, before turning to look at the locked door. There was a pounding against it. They both froze, and Glenn desperately continued scanning the room.

"Glenn!"

"Dale!" Glenn cried, relieved, and he went to check the window before he opened the door. It was Dale, looking completely healthy, with Andrea and Carol beside him. Glenn flew to the door, and let them inside, then locked it up swiftly behind them.

Once safe, Dale threw his arms around the young man. "I'm glad you're okay. We had to assume, since you two went looking for them…"

"No," Glenn sighed. "We're both fine," He gestured to Blaine, who was still nursing her dislocated hand. "Just a little beat up. You guys?"

"We're all okay." Dale answered.

"Do you know how many are out there?"

"It looks like about 11, after Rick went back out. I think they started with 15."

"Okay, so Rick needs help."

"The question is, how do we find Rick?" Andrea asked.

"Follow the gunshots." Blaine answered for her, eyes on the window, where the screaming was continuing.

"Well my dear," Dale sighed. "It seems you were right."

"I wish I wasn't." Blaine sniffed. "Fucking Jackson Wyland."

"Wait…" Glenn froze; hand on what he had been looking for, Cali's bat. "Did you say Wyland?"

* * *

><p>Rick shot another round, and watched the Walker fall. There were still seven coming at him though, and he was starting to get worried. What if there were more than just these fuckers?<p>

"Need help?" Glenn asked, as he climbed down the railing of the deck above him, and dropped by Rick. The Sheriff had never been so damn happy to see that boy. Soon, Andrea and Dale joined him, and Rick made quick work of arming them all.

With help, the seven cornering Rick were quickly ended, and all that remained was the screaming of the hurt and dying. Glenn and Andrea looked at Rick, who only shook his head. "Anyone hurt or dead…put a bullet in their Brains. Dale, come with me, we're going to sweep the rest of the ship. Make sure that's all of them. And if someone sees Lori, please let me know."

Dale followed Rick up each deck, both of them delivering the suffering from their sorrows, and ensuring that the dead would in no way rise again. Dale stared with shock upon the carnage wasted among the ship. There were so many people dead, and the damage done by so few Walkers was impressive.

"How in the hell did that kid pull this off?" Rick asked, once Dale had given Rick Blaine's story. Dale shook his head.

"I have no idea. I'm not really sure Blaine herself knows what happened. It does seem rather impossible, doesn't it?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a small, crying noise. Rick and Dale looked warily at each other, before they began searching for the cause of the noise. Finally, the pinpointed it's source, a young pregnant woman. She was curled up against the wall, a chunk missing from her neck and shoulder, and tears running down my face. "Please…" She sniffed when she saw them. "Please help me? Help my baby?"

Rick stared in shock, of all the things he expected, he hadn't expected this. The sheriff looked to the older man, who looked just as broken as he did. They couldn't help her, and if they didn't then it was only a matter of time before she became a Walker. But the baby? What would happen to the baby? Once the mother died, it would die…but would she carry it around with her…our would she tear into herself to try and eat-

He stopped his train of thought immediately, and knelt down next to the pregnant woman. "I'm gonna help you, okay?"

"Please, please help."

"I will." Rick murmured, and quietly brought the gun up to her head. She closed her eyes, and started crying more. "It's gonna be okay."

Her hand slid into Rick's and he gripped her hand tight.

Then the sheriff pulled the trigger, and tried to pretend the liquid running down his face was just the girl's blood.

* * *

><p>Daryl sighed as he helped Glenn lift a body, this on being the Captain, and toss it overboard. Around him, people were trying to regroup the best they could. The people who had managed to live, were desperately looking for who they had left, and how to rebuild their shattered mentalities after their world had been pulled out from under them once more.<p>

And more than anything, Daryl was looking for the mother fucker that started this.

"Hey, is Cali okay?" Glenn asked, as they watched the Captain's body slowly drift under the waves.

"Yeah. Why?"

"She looks really pale." Glenn mentioned, and Daryl looked over at Nia, who was sitting with Doctor Parish as he looked over the swollen hand of a brown haired girl that Daryl didn't recognize, but had shown up with Glenn. The kid did have a point, Nia did look pretty pale, and she had a pretty spacey look on her face, but other than that, she seemed about as normal as everyone else.

As they were looking at her, they saw her blink a few times, then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out right there. Glenn and Daryl ran over to her, but Dr. Parish stopped them right there, and he went to check her pulse. "She's burning up." His eyebrows knitted together, and he grabbed her hands and began looked them over once again. "Oh my God."

"What?" Glenn asked, but Daryl knew, before Parish had even opened his mouth. Because Nia had decked a Walker in the face, because only Nia would be that fucking stupid.

Parish looked up at Glenn and Daryl, with a broken look. "She got bit."

* * *

><p><strong>Klekje: <strong>

**I am currently enrolled at Carroll :D and I'm going to take a page from Cali's book and major in history!**

**And see! I'm not so bad! I didn't kill Blaine or Glenn! It's okay, they're okay. And in my defense, no one said that I couldn't hurt Cali xD **

**If you hated that cliffhanger, how's this one? ;)**

**I think I'm settling in okay, I'm finding myself incredibly homesick right now. I just miss all my friends lol. **

**I'm glad that Avery's bad ass little attitude is working its magic on you. hope you enjoy!**

**Chemmy!:**

**Awh, Chemmy, you know I always love your kind words :) Thank you! **

**PlasticCandy:**

**Come on Candy, we both know who the real culprit here is, and it's not the one named after the Greek Goddess ;)**

**See! It's okay! Glenn and Blaine are okay!**

**Well honey, you need to get some internet and quick! I miss your updates!**

**Alina Maxwell: Thank you, as always Alina! Hope you enjoyed, and hope this was fast enough for you!**

**Punka:**

**Awh thanks so much! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the update!**

**Kathleensmiles:**

**Okay…before you attack me…in my defense, on your 'do not kill or I will end you' list Cali's name was nowhere to be seen…so…I was just doing what you said!**

**Hope you enjoyed it though! And please don't sic your dog on me…**

**Fluffiet: Awh Fluffy, you know I love hearing from you!**

**I have a cold too, I think. Or it might be because I'm not used to the weather here, not sure which yet xD**

**Avery is special, and your description of her was exactly what I was going for! Avery isn't mean, she's just acclimated much better to her surroundings than the other. **

**Oh, and really quick, what is a TV Tropes page? I'd love to be on a Fanfic recommendation page though! That would be awesome!**

**And hey…where did Lori go?**

**Also, don't worry, Glenn and Blaine are fine xD **

**Nena-Daconte:**

**I'm so glad you found it XD**

**Don't you be stealing Cali from Daryl! He might not like that too much, even if he won't admit it!**

**I'm so glad you liked the Saints fic...and I know...I'm sorry about Blaine :( At least I didn't kill her here, right?**

**I actually don't take writing classes, but thank you for such high praise! And I'm actually looking into a history major, but I do want to be an author, so look out for it! :D Thanks for the review!**

**Awh thank you all for your kind reviews, please feel free to drop me another one! I love you all, even if you all might hate me now!**

**Cheers!**

**-Eris. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: Well, I got a lovely amount of angry reviews and expletives from you dear sweet readers, so I take it that means I'm doing something right :D**

**Second, I'm sorry I went for the jugular on that last play, but if I had like Andrea or Carol bit…well…it wouldn't have hurt as much. I'm still sorry though kids!**

**Third: who has a song that they listen to when they want to write angst. Pure, perfect angst. Because I could use some variety!**

**Seatbelts my honeybunches! It's about to get awesome up in here!**

**Oh, as for Cali's ramblings and stuff, I went and looked up as much information as I could about Walker bites, and there's just this awesome list of side effects lol. **

**Today's chapter song? Turn Into Earth, by the Yardbirds. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking dead, and this chapter has violence, swearing, mentions of suicide and self-harm. Possibly triggering, so tread lightly okay!**

Chapter 20: Just As The Angel Cried For The Slaughter, Abraham's Daughter Raised Her Bow

Of the two of them, frozen after the doctor's admission of Cali's death sentence, Glenn was the first to move. He covered the doctor's mouth, and held his finger up to his lips. The doctor nodded his understanding, and looked up to Daryl. Glenn followed; technically, Daryl was the closest thing Cali had to next of kin.

The hunter looked shocked though, unsurprised, but shocked. Finally, he seemed to exhale and he looked at them. "Git her to yer office." Carefully, trying not to rouse the suspicion of anyone else on board, Glenn and the doctor both got Cali up on her feet, and began the journey towards his office. A few people stopped to stare at them, but before they could even open their mouths, Blaine cut them off.

"Oh the poor thing, she took one look at my hand and passed out. Must've freaked her out." She'd explain, and then offer up her hand, which was still contorted out of shape. It was enough to shut most people up, and leave them as pale as Cali. Finally, they made to Parish's office, and they got her up on the exam table. Silence engulfed the men surrounding her, and finally Blaine had to be the one to speak up. "Where's the bite?"

"Here." Parish wasn't his normal, jubilant self anymore. He seemed the most focused he'd been in a long time. He grabbed Cali's hand, and hidden among the shards of glass was a jagged cut that couldn't have come from glass, but more than likely the canine of the dead Walker. "It's not a massive bite, but it doesn't need to be. The poison is in the bloodstream."

"Is there anything we can do?" Glenn asked, his voice breaking slightly. Parish sighed, and ran a hand though his perfect hair.

"It's not a huge bite, so we might be able to combat it longer…it'd…it'd just be prolonging the inevitable, mind you, but…we could keep her around long enough to get a goodbye out of it."

"Fuck," Glenn snarled. "She deserves better than that, don't you think? Isn't there _anything_ that we can try."

Parish shook his head, but Blaine popped her head up, and looked at the doctor. "Yes there is."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I assure you," Parish narrowed his eyes. "I don't."

Blaine narrowed her eyes too. "She's going to die, and she doesn't have to. Work with me here."

"I'm a doctor."

"Yeah, and maybe that mattered in the Old World, but here?"

"No. I still have my ethics."

"I don't." Blaine snarled. "Glenn, you need to find Avery."

"Avery? Why?"

"Because she can help."

* * *

><p>The closer Avery and Skipper got to the ship, the more they realized what they had stumbled upon. They starting to come across bodies drifting in the water. Some held the decay of the dead, others had been alive when Avery had left that morning. She stared in shock at each corpse they passed, and shook her head. "What happened here?"<p>

"A massacre." Skipper's aged voice cracked with sorrow, and the desperation for a drink. Avery pulled her eyes away from the bodies, and towards the ship. Even from where she was, she could see the silhouettes of people on the deck, so the _still living_ was walking on deck. Not everyone was dead. "Look." He pointed out towards their left. "It's the Captain."

"God bless him." Avery shook her head, and looked back at Skipper. "We have to get up there." She ordered him, and this time, he didn't argue, just directed their boat around to they could be picked back up by another member of the crew. Once they were seen and raised back on the deck, Avery took off. She had to find her family, no matter what.

* * *

><p><em>This was the scenario out of a nightmare drawn up by the addict going through withdrawal. No matter where she ran, there was no door open, and every person she ran into had no eyes, only gaping holes with torrents of blood flooding forth to greet her. Their teeth were jagged, and their smiles dangerous. She couldn't escape, she couldn't run. She wanted to lie down and die, but they wouldn't let her do that. Every time she tried to stop running, another monster with bleeding eyes would throw her back into movement, then they would go back to just standing there and ignoring her. She couldn't do this anymore, the people were everywhere, and she was so tired, everything hurt, and it was too hot. She only clawed at her head and screamed. <em>

Cali shot up with a scream, and the movement sent her head swimming, black dots crowded her vision and she swayed for a second before she felt calloused hands gripping her shoulders. It took her even longer to realize that someone was talking to her.

"Nia!"

"Yeah?" She answered, her voice sounded cracked, and it hurt to use. She made a face, and tried to bring her hand up to her neck, but was stalled by a tugging. She looked down and saw an IV imbedded in her arm, attached to a clear bag. Confused, she looked at it for a while, before looking around her surroundings. Beau's office, why was she in Beau's office?

"Ya alrigh'?" She turned her attention back to the voice, and tried to focus on the person, but her eyes weren't working the way they should be.

"What happened?" She croaked out of her throat, before it hurt too much, and she'd have to wait to talk again. She looked at the figure in front of her, her brain trying desperately to name him. She knew she knew him, but damn it she couldn't think of his name right now. Finally, the man scowled, and his name came flooding back to her. "Daryl?"

Daryl's scowl deepened, and he ran a hand across his face, before looking heavenwards. "Ya remember anything?"

"I remember the Walker attack, and trying to help Beau pop some girl's hand back into its socket…but after that…nothing." She admitted, her head was still swimming, and the damn movement of the ocean was starting to kill her. "Oh God," She moaned. "I need a bucket."

"Whut?"

"Bucket. Now." Cali ordered before she felt her stomach clench. Daryl hauled ass across the office, grabbed a plastic bin, and shoved it at Cali just in time for her to curl up around it as her stomach revolted against her body. She sat retching in that bin for a few minutes before she finally sat back up, tears streaming down her face from the exertion. "Fuck." She moaned before looking down and freezing. "Oh my God." Daryl sat frozen too, staring at the trickle of blood making its way down from the corner of her mouth. In the bucket, there was nothing but blood splatter, and she slowly pushed it away. Shaking, she turned to Daryl, and narrowed her hazy eyes. "What the fuck?"

Daryl growled, and walked back over towards her, and wiped the blood off her face. He wouldn't meet her eyes, but he brought his hand down to hers, and turned it so that her palm was down. Cali followed the movement with her eyes, and froze when she saw what he was trying to show her. For one, her skin was pale, way paler than it had ever been in her life. Second, was the deep red surrounding the jagged cut on her hand. It was impossible to miss something so dark, and she knew instantly what she was staring at. "Oh." She whispered, and brought the hand closer to her face. "Wow."

"Nia…"

"No, no. It's alright. I should know better than to punch a Walker in the face, huh?" Her hand trembled as she tried to hold it so she could see it, but it didn't matter anyways, her tears blurred her eyes, and she couldn't see a damn thing. The spilled over, and that same callused hand wiped the tears off the same way he wiped the blood.

"Parish thinks he might hav' som'thin' tha' could help ya." Daryl explained, and Cali huffed out a laugh.

"There's no helping me. I kinda fucked the pooch on this one, dontcha think?"

"He seemed pretty sure-"

"No." Cali shook her head. "I don't want that false hope bullshit, okay?" She looked up at him. "Why am I still alive?"

"Nia, I'm bein' serious."

"So am I. I got bit. Why am I not dead right now? There should be a bullet in my brain."

"Ain't nobody know but me, Parish, Glenn an' tha' Blaine girl."

"And you plan on keeping me as a pet? What the fuck!" She snarled, but the anger was too much, and she fell back onto her elbows as the dizzy spell passed through her. Daryl frowned, and leaned against the counter.

"Whu' th' fuck you 'spect me to do than Nia? Leave ya on the damn deck?"

"I expected you to keep your promise." She glared at him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Th' fuck you talkin' about?"

"Back when we left Jim alone to die, before the CDC. You promised me that if that ever happened to me, you'd put a bullet in my brain."

* * *

><p>Avery traveled through the underbelly of the ship, doing her best to avoid everyone she knew. She didn't want to sit through thy hysteria and fear that came with trauma like this. Plus, she didn't come back for them; she came back for her family, for her brother.<p>

Now all she had to do was find him.

She traveled lower and lower into the ship, passing a corpse or two on her way, but she hesitated before calling out a name. She didn't want any unwanted guests. On her trek, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, and she turned on it, knife out and ready.

Glenn held up his hands with a peaceful smile, and a shake of his head. "Whoa, easy. It's just me."

"Glenn! Thank God you're okay!" Avery sighed and threw her arms around the young man. "Is your group okay?"

Pain flashed across his face, and Avery's smile diminished. Oh. Oh no. "No. We're not okay. But uh, Parish, he uh, he's doing physicals again, or checkups or whatever. He told me to bring you to him if I found you. So, you ready to go?"

"I need to find-"

"He insisted." Glenn's voice changed slightly, there was suddenly an air of danger around the boy, and Avery couldn't place where the anger was coming from. There was no denying the anger though, it was obvious, it was painted across his face, hidden in the shadows and dark crevices that begged to be discovered and stopped. Help, he wanted help, but first, he was going to be angry. Avery could only swallow, and she poked her tongue against her lip ring, one of her nervous ticks.

"Well…okay." She mumbled, and followed Glenn back up deck, towards the doctor's office when they got closer, they could hear crying.

"So sorry love," Parish cooed from behind the door. "Should only be one more push now." Glenn paused outside and waited, whatever was going on, he didn't want to see it. The anger that had been on his face was replaced with worry, and if Avery wasn't mistaken, possessiveness. Before she could dwell on that more, there was a pop, and a cry, followed by a sigh. Glenn took that as an invitation, and he pulled the door to the doctor's office open, and Avery took in her surroundings. She had the sudden feeling that she was no more than a trapped lamb, surrounded by wolves screaming for her blood.

That crazy girl was sitting on the exam table, gingerly testing the motion of her wrist while Dr. Parish gathered her an ice pack to place on the swollen hand. Both of them looked up at the same time, and Glenn looked around the room. "Where did she go?"

"She…insisted…on being in her room. Didn't like the way people were starting to stare at her." Parish explained, handing the ice over to the crazy girl. Avery frowned, her name…what was her name…Blaine! She remembered now. "Hello Avery." Parish smiled, and greeted the girl. Avery smiled back, she had to. There was something about his smile that make you want to smile back.

"Hey Doc…Glenn said you wanted to see me?" She asked, and Parish nodded.

"Yes…these two…they have a request…"

Avery leaned against the counter and eyes the two suspiciously. "Alright…what do you guys need?"

"It's not us that need it." Glenn admitted, pulling off his baseball cap, and wrangled it around in his hands. "It's Cali."

"What about her?" Avery asked, reaching for cigarettes.

"She got bit."

Avery's hands froze on their way to her pocket, and her eyes were wide. She looked up sharply at the three staring at her intently. "What the fuck do you expect me to do about that?"

"She needs your help." Blaine sighed, and Avery glared at her.

"Oh, yeah? Well how am I possibly supposed to help her huh? Turn back time?"

"You could fix her."

Avery snorted, and her confidence returned enough for her to grab her smokes, and light one up. "Sorry guys, I may like to think so, but I'm not God. I don't think I have that kind of pull."

"Oh cut the power play." Blaine snarled, and turned her cinnamon colored eyes to Avery's blue. "Help her, consider it retribution for what your brother caused."

"…What are you talking about?" Avery's eyebrow quirked up. "What did Jackson have to do with Cali getting chomped up like dinner?"

Glenn's anger was back, and his hands balled into fists so tightly, Avery thought they might break. "Cali got bit because your fucking brother likes to keep Walkers as pets and let them loose on the crew when he gets bored!"

"What?! That's so fucking stupid!"

"It's true! He locked me in a fucking freezer and left me to die! I would've if Blaine hadn't saved me! He tried to kill us both, then he let his fucking toys loose on the whole fucking ship! All those people are dead because of him! I'm not going to let Cali be one of those people, not if there's a way to help her!"

Avery stared at Glenn, trembling with anger, her smoke burning to the filter in her hands. Parish looked sick himself, and Blaine's eyes were narrowed too…scowl looking like it a permanently etched onto her face. "I don't believe you."

"Come on Avery, who else could it be?" Blaine sighed. "I saw the scar on his hands, and the one on the back of his leg. It didn't make sense, but when he had me tied up and left to listen to Glenn die, I saw them. They were bite marks Avery, I don't know how…but…it seems you're both-"

"Shut up! I'm nothing like that!"

"Yes you are! That's why you're not afraid of the Walkers! You don't need to be!"

"I said shut up!"

"So pay up for your brother's sins!"

"Why should I help you!? You're both delusional! I can't help!"

"Yes, you can." Glenn growled. "And, it's in your best interest to help her."

"I don't owe her anything. I don't think I've ever even spoken to her."

"It's not her you have to worry about." Glenn actually smirked at her now. "If she dies…you think anyone is going to be able to stop Daryl from killing your brother?" Avery's eyes went wide again, and her eyes locked with Glenn's. "If he finds him, right now, then your brother is a dead man. No one will be able to stop him…no one will try. Cali is our family, and you're stopping us from saving her…and your brother killed her. Hell, they'll probably help Daryl find him. But make no mistake; Dixon will destroy your brother."

"Fuck."

"But…he might be more willing to listen to reason, and there might be more willing to reason with him, if Cali doesn't die."

"I…I can't. I won't. Not if I can't see Jackson first."

"No one knows where he is." Blaine muttered. "But then again, I wonder how many of these people even know who Jackson is."

"We don't have time! Cali is dying! You have to help her!"

Avery looked over towards Parish, and she shook her head. "You promised this wouldn't happen to me. You promised you wouldn't say anything."

"I assure you, my dear, I didn't." Parish sighed, and scrubbed a hand across his face. "Blaine figured it out."

"I don't want to do this…I shouldn't have to do this." Avery shook her head, tears fighting against the façade of strength she'd worked so hard to create here. She wasn't weak, she didn't need this. "I'm not a damn guinea pig!"

"It's you or your brother." Glenn snarled, and Avery understood that they were never going to be on the same side. Glenn had his family, and she had hers. Their line had been drawn, and she had no choice now.

"I can't help you!" She struggled out again, and Blaine shook her head.

"Avery…you're immune. You're the only one who can help."

* * *

><p>Daryl sat on the ground by Nia's bed, while she sat up there, alternating between puking blood, and staring at the mark on her hand. Daryl couldn't remember much about when Jim was sick…other than it was his plan to toss a pick ax in his head and call it good. This situation…he didn't know when he was going to lose Nia, or when he was going to have to lose Nia.<p>

"So," her voice was rough, as though it was her own throat she kept puking up. "Are we going to talk about your promise?"

"Nia…ya can't fuckin' ask me to do that." He sighed, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to relive the headache that was now gnawing against his skull. He heard Cali scoff.

"You're going to let me fade away like this? Come on Dixon. You promised me I wouldn't have to be a Walker. I don't want to fucking be a Walker."

"Ya won't be."

"Then kill me."

"Wha' th' fuckin' rush Nia?" Daryl snarled, and turned to look back at her. That was probably a mistake. Her cloudy eyes were narrowed on his, and dried blood decorated her mouth from where she was too weak to even wipe the blood off her face.

"Do you have any idea how much everything hurts? It hurts so fucking badly. I can feel my blood vessels popping, and it's so fucking hot. Daryl, my fucking bones hurt." She grinned over chapped lips, and tears welled up in her eyes. "I just want it to stop hurting."

"Look, th' doctor thinks-"

"I'm not going to get better." She sniffed, and reached for the bucket again, before the waves got worse and she ended up missing. "I never thought you'd be the type to delude yourself."

Daryl winced, and fought back against the anger that surged through his body. "Can't 'spect me to be perfect all th' time Nia."

"Can I expect you to keep your promise?" She snarled, and Daryl closed his eyes, and looked away. Nia make a choking sound as her body began expelling more blood though her mouth and she bent over her bucket. Daryl couldn't take it anymore, he stood up, fully intent on leaving, until Nia's hand shot out, and took hold of his, begging him not to leave her alone. He hesitated, before flopping down on the bed next to her, and gathering up her hair with one hand, and running his hand up and down her back with his other. Her grip on the bucket was white knuckled until her stomach stopped lurching, and she was granted a reprieve for the time being.

Her spent body fell back into his, and Daryl only wrapped his arms around her, and she brought a hand up to his arm, and held on while she fought back tears. "I don't want to die." She whispered, and Daryl swallowed.

"I know."

"But…I can't be a Walker. I don't want everyone's last memories of me to be that. I can't be like Amy. I can't be killed because it's a necessity, because I'm too dangerous to live. I don't want to be a monster."

"Ya ain' ever gonn' be a monster."

"I don't want to do this." She sniffed. "I'm breaking apart, piece by piece, and I don't think I can do this anymore Daryl. It hurts so fucking much."

"Jus' try and hol' on Nia. Fer as long as ya can." Daryl's voice was low, and he'd be under pain of death to admit it, but that was the closest he'd come to begging since he was five, and trying to get his Ol Man to feed him.

"I can't, Dixon. It's too much, I'm not strong enough." She mumbled, the skin that was exposed, and pressed against Daryl's was scorching, and her breathing was getting shallower. Slowly, she was dying right in front of him, and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it. "Please…keep your promise?"

Daryl swallowed hard, and buried his face into Nia's neck. "I can't, Nia. I jus' can't." He whispered, and the girl against him sighed raggedly, before she smiled again.

"Alright. It's okay." She murmured, and brought a hand up to run it through Daryl's hair. "I won't ask again, okay…but…could you leave me a gun then?"

He froze, and couldn't bring himself to look up at her. It wasn't an unfair request, not in the slightest, and if it had been anyone else, any other fucking person on this ship, he would've left immediately, and gotten them what they asked for. But not her, fuck, not her. He wasn't ready to give her up just yet, and he wanted nothing more than to be able to sit there and pretend she wasn't slowly denaturing right in front of him.

But, she deserved his respect too, after all, she was a survivor, just like the rest of them.

"Sure." He murmured into her skin. "I'll get you one."

"Thank you." She was smiling, but her body had started to shake, and her eyes spilt over again. Tears fell down her face, and onto the Hunter's hand, but they both pretended it wasn't there.

It was easier that way.

* * *

><p>Lori woke up to darkness, and instantly, she knew she was in trouble. She was either on a couch, or a bed, she wasn't sure which, and she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. The room was quiet, but she could hear muttering coming from the other side of the spacious area, and she strained her ears against the silence to hear.<p>

"…killed them all…monsters…revenge…how could they…"

Lori swallowed, wondering just who the hell had been killed, and who the hell she was now stuck with.

"Oh, you're awake." The voice was suddenly much closer, and much younger than Lori had anticipated. "Good, that's good. If you were dead, you wouldn't make a very good bargaining chip. I'm glad you're not dead."

"Bargaining chip?" Lori asked, trying to move, only to find that she was secured to whatever she was laying on. The kid nodded.

"Yes. Yes. I need you to be well. Or they'll kill me, they're probably looking for me right now, and if I don't have you, then what the hell am I going to do? I'm not going to let them kill me." A finger stroked down Lori's cheek, and she tried to pull away. "It's just you and me now. Just you and me."

* * *

><p>No matter where Cali went, there was blood. Everything she touched was covered in the sticky warm substance that threaten to make her toss everything she had, and rip out her eyes so she wouldn't have to see this again. Ever again.<p>

"Damn baby, you are one hell of a bad luck charm, aren't ya?"

Cali froze when she heard the voice, because there was no way…no fucking way. But when she turned around, sitting there clear as day, was Wade, a picture of beautiful boy, the one he'd been when she'd gotten on the airplane. His chestnut hair barely hung in his eyes, and his crooked smile brought back the butterflies she hadn't felt in the last year. "Wade?"

"That's right baby girl. You look sicker than hell."

"Well, fuck you very much." Cali frowned, and looked down at her hand. "I'm going to die, did you know that?"

Wade sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I heard. I'm real sorry about that Cali, you know I would've done anything I could to save you from this."

Cali looked away, and shook her head. "Don't…don't be nice to me. I'm not…I've got someone, here."

Wade readjusted himself, before shooting her a smirk. "Yeah, I noticed. He's a little old for you, isn't he?"

Cali laughed at that, and shook her head. "He don't act like it."

"Who is he?"

"Daryl Dixon. He's the one who saved my ass-"

"-From the tree?"

"Fuck you Wade." She smiled at him, and he returned the favor. She looked him up and down, and saw a gaping hole on his arm. There wasn't gore, or blood, it was as if someone had photoshopped a chunk of Wade's arm off with the eraser tool. That's where he'd gotten bit. It must've been. "Is it scary?"

"What?"

"Dying?" Her voice was small, and Wade gave her another smile, this one more heartbreaking than the last.

"It was the scariest thing I ever experience Cali." He sighed, and shook his head. "Getting there too…it hurt like hell, I couldn't stop crying the entire time. I kept seeing shit."

"I think I know the feeling."

"But…Death…letting go…you shouldn't be afraid of it, okay?" He looked up at her, and she tilted her head.

"Why not?"

"Because you can finally breath again Baby Girl, everything plays out, and it's beautiful. You don't hurt anymore, you don't cry anymore, and you don't want anything. You don't need anything. You're _happy_, for the first time in months, you're happy." Wade gave her a wide smile that always made Cali's heart pick up tempo. "And don't you deserve to be happy?"

"I thought I was happy."

"Baby Girl, you're three seconds from death every day. How could that possibly make you happy?" He knelt down in front of her. "Don't you want to see your family again?"

"I…I have my family. They're here." Cali argued. Wade frowned and shook his head.

"Baby Girl," He whispered. "You have to let go."

"-Fonia? California!" Cali snapped back to attention, and instead of facing Wade, like she had been seconds ago, Beau stood in front of her, a worried look on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Where did you go?"

"I have no idea." She admitted. "But it sure as fuck wasn't here." She rolled her dulled eyes towards the doctor. "What can I do for you?"

"Just thought I'd come check on you." He admitted, and looked at the bin that was still grasped in her bloodstained hands. "My God, is that all from today?" Cali followed his eyes to see the coagulated blood in the bin, and her stomach roiled against her.

"Yeah, I think so."

"You're losing blood at an alarming pace, maybe I could hook up a transfusion, what's your blood type?"

Cali snorted, and sat back against the wall. "No offense Doc, but unless you have a needle full of drugs to put me out of my fucking misery, I'm not interested."

Parish seemed appalled by the mere suggestion. "I took an oath to save lives, Miss Hollywood, not take them."

"Come on, just one fucking needle-"

"I've seen countless people die! The man I loved died on this ship! I'm not losing anymore, and I'm not going to be the one that kills you!" Parish snarled at her, before he adjusted his tie. Cali bit her lip and pushed the bangs that the fever had plastered to her forehead off, and she reached out, and covered Beau's hand with hers.

_I'm sorry._

He looked up at her and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe it, you're slowly breaking down, and you still look like a beauty queen." He turned his nose up at her. "Bitch."

_It's okay._

Cali tossed her head back and laughed, really laughed, for the first time in a very long time. Her stomach seized, and she found herself bent over the bin once more, blood leaking from her mouth, but she was still laughing. Once the heaving stopped, she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes, and the blood from her mouth, and her chin started quivering.

Immediately Beau's arms encircled her, and she fell into his embrace, and buried her face in his chest so she could cry without anyone seeing. Instantly, the man's hand was rubbing her back, murmuring nonsense intended to soothe the pain away. She cried as hard as she could, and she didn't stop until she was back with her face in the bin. Beau held her hair and swallowed his own sadness. "I know you don't want it, but I need to know your blood type. I want to help, do everything I can." He whispered, and Cali nodded over her retching.

"Uh…" She sniffed after wiping the blood off her face again, leaving the fresh red against her pale skin to dry with the rest. "AB. I'm AB."

"Alright sweetie, we're going to make this okay." He promised, and kissed her forehead. Cali fell back against her bed again, curling into herself and she shook her head.

"There isn't an okay. Not anymore."

* * *

><p>With the gun weighing heavy in his waistband, Daryl found himself standing outside of the chapel on the third deck. He had no idea why, he wasn't fucking religious in the slightest, and he'd never found much use for a church. Especially since he'd come pretty damn close to facing his own mortality in the last one they'd been to. Still, he pushed the door open, and walked inside.<p>

It was empty, and unlike the rest of the ship, seemed completely untouched by evil, or crazy. Slowly, he made his way towards a row of pews, and sat himself down. He rested his arms against his knees, and took a deep breath. Maybe that's what he need, a moment to breathe, and to collect his thoughts. After all, today had been one fucking day.

He ran his critical eyes throughout the room, and finally they rested on the crucifix hanging up on the wall, behind the alter. Daryl felt a smirk crawl across his face, and he shook his head. "I know ya ain't exactly a 'hands on' type of God, but fuck, ya ain't really been interested in wha's going on down here, have ya?" His voice was low, and barely registered in the comfortable silence around him. "So, did man do this, or were ya pissed at us again, and since ya promised never to flood the world again, just sent a fuckin' plague across the land?"

The impassive stone face of the crucified Christ never changed, but Daryl still felt unnerved. "She don't deserve this." He muttered. "An' ya know tha' as much as I do. Hell, she's one of th' only people left still prayin' t' you. I hear her sometimes, just asking for protection, 'r forgiveness 'r some shit, an' this is how you repay her? I mean fuck, ya can't give the bitch a break? She can't die this way." Daryl shook his head and dropped his head into his hands. "She ain't done near enough bad to deserves somethin' like this man. An' I can' fix it…because if I could, ya can bet yer holy ass tha' I wouldn't be botherin' with you. Ya been quiet all my life, an' I don't need ya anymore…but damn it…she does. So help her. Please, just fuckin'help her."

"I ain't had the chance t' say it back to her, and I ain't getting' screwed out of my chance by th' fucking undead, so please, just fuckin' save her. Please."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank yous!:<strong>

**Plastic Candy:**

**Candy, if I could make you laugh once during what I consider the saddest chapter I've ever penned out, consider that a win!**

**Hmmm is it Internet that you lack?**

…**Sorry it was a fake bite lol**

**CheshireGrinn:**

**Wow, you compared me to a Walking Dead writer!? :OOO THANK YOU SO MUCH! **

**Awh, Nia adores you too!**

**Klekje: **

**Hey, what can I say? I love my Cliffhangers. They're my favorite thing in the whole wide world! **

**Awh, thanks, I'm starting to love my school :D**

**Hahaa my readers are starting to get greedy xD Blaine and Glenn are both living, which is honestly a feat for Blaine! Now I have to let Cali live too? Lol. **

**And wow, you really think I could pull off being an author!? That's amazing! What classes do you think I should take to make myself better!?**

**Bloodrope:**

**I know…I keep fucking with Daryl :P and ahhh yes, my secret Ninja move to get Blaine back in the game. To be honest, I just missed Blaine ;)**

**The homesickness is getting better! Thanks! :D**

**Kathleensmiles:**

**Whoa whoa whoa whoa! You can't send your dog after me! You in no way said I couldn't hurt Cali! I was going off of your list! Lol, and she's not dead yet!**

**Chemmy!:**

**Oh, Chemmy, haven't you realized? I always have a terrible plan ;D**

**Congrats to you and your boyfriend! That's a freaking adorable story!**

**MyMissingHalo: **

**ERMAHGERD! HALO! :DD**

**Heh…heh…hey…I brought Blaine back, didn't I?! She's alive, lol. And Cali's not dead yet!**

**I'm about 12 hours from home ;/ and the verbal threats and abuse from my dear readers make me feel less homesick xD**

**I'm glad you liked the action! And don't worry, there should be more coming up! After all, it's just started getting good!**

**Beau had to have something to make him bad ass, and I'm convinced that doctors sit around and throw scalpels when they're bored!**

**Shane was…a necessity. There needed to be a body count, and it was actually vital for Rick, cuz I've got shit coming up for him too ;D**

**Avery's a bitch, but she's a smart bitch, one who knows how to play the game.**

**I'll start being more social! **

**And I'll do what I can to keep Cali around Halo! I promise!**

**KamuiLumior: **

**I'm sorry! Lol, so sorry! **

**Hope you enjoyed the update though!**

**PaintDestiny:**

**How's that? :D Thanks for the review. **

**Fluffiet: **

**Oh the Hunger Games soundtrack is so good. So so good. I can't even handle it lol. **

**I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY NIA GOT BIT! SHE DIDN'T MEAN TO! And wow, I think that's the most I've ever seen you swear at me xD**

**I actually don't read the comics lol, but I hear they're amazing!**

**Thanks for the link love, I'll check it out!**

**Hope you're not in a coma!**

**Nena-Daconte:**

**Why…yes, that is the same Blaine ;D and her brothers are those sexy Irishmen ;D**

**Thanks for the review!**

**LaciL:**

**Wow! You read this fast! Thanks for checking it out! :D**

**And uh, sorry about Cali…it might be okay!**

**Thanks! I don't have a Beta reader, so it's hard for me to catch these things sometimes!**

**Well…Cali's not the one who's crazy immune…is she?**

**Nelle07:**

**Awh Nelle! We've known each other for years! Don't dislike me xD**

**Thanks again for the awesome reviews guys! So, how'd I do!? Let me know!**

**Love you all!**

**Eris!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Well, she isn't dead yet, can we be happy for that? :D No? Yeah, I know. Sorry this chapter took so long for me to get out guys, I spent most of the time racking my brain, trying to figure out what could possibly make someone immune, and my theory, ladies and gentlemen, is inscribed below, so, have at it! I want to know how you think I did!**

**Secondly, I spent a lot of time on many medical webisites for Parish's whole idea, and I did what I could, but there was just no changing the fact that they aren't at a hospital, so I did what I could. Rather, Beau did what he could. No matter what, I hope you all enjoy.**

**Now, a question, do you want to see Daryl take mercy on Jackson, after his talk with Avery below, or do you want him to kill the fucker? The choice is entirely yours!**

**Finally, another thing I need you all to put to vote, and this one is important. Do you want the immunity scheme to work? Or would you rather have it be another failed attempt? Please do share.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead, and in this chapter, there is swearing, racism, mentions of suicide and self-harm, and a brief stint of mental illness. Enjoy. **

Chapter 21: Don't You Fret My Dear, It'll All Be Over Soon

Avery glared at Glenn, her eyes burned into his skull, and he could feel her fucking intent to kill him. The Pizza Boy only shook his head. They needed her help, but blackmailing probably hadn't been the best way to go about that. Besides, whatever happened to Cali, Daryl was probably going to kill that immune mother fucker no matter what. The Redneck got pissed when people stepped on his foot, and Glenn couldn't even imagine the anger that comes with 'almost killed/killed the girl I love'. "I don't feel bad. Your brother did this to himself."

"You have to be wrong. There's no way Jackson could have done this. There's just no fucking way."

"Why would I kid about this? And seriously? You and your brother are the only people that can get bit, and walk away from it. Who the fuck else could it be?"

Avery flinched and looked away, anger written all over her face. "Don't talk about us like that."

"Like what?"

"Like we're fucking freaks! We're not freaks! I mean, fuck. There are more people like us. There have to be more people like us." She glared at her feed. "It's fucking biology. There's no way it's just me and Jackson. There's more. They just don't know they're immune." She answered, looking behind Glenn, and around Parish's office. All she saw were medical supplies and needles, and she was suddenly uneasy.

"What do you mean they don't know?"

"It's not like there's a test." Avery spat, thinking about how each one of those tools were now her enemy. These people were willing to rip her open to see how she ticked, what made her genetically immune to the greatest plague in mankind's history. "You don't know unless you get bit, and if your group is anything like here, you get killed before you can even find out."

"Why would they kill you? You won't end up a Walker."

"Like they know that." Avery rolled her eyes. "And anyway, just because we're immune doesn't mean we get bit, slap on a bandage and walk away, it hurts like _hell_. It's like we get the joy of feeling the pain of having your body shut down on you, but, the next day, you get up, and you're fine."

Glenn nodded his head. "And that's why you're not afraid to go on land alone?"

"No, that's why I'm not afraid to go on land. I go alone, because I don't have time to teach some dumbass the ropes, and if they call the attention of a bunch of Walkers? Well, no one's immune from being ripped apart and eaten alive." She rolled her eyes. "Besides, I'm usually the only one who needs anything from land."

"Nice of your brother to wait until you left before trying to kill us all."

"SHUT UP!" Avery screamed, and clenched her fist. "He didn't do it! He would never do this!"

"Yes he did! And goddamn it Avery, we need you to make this right! Understand!?"

"It's not my job to help your fucking friend!"

"But it is your job to help you brother!" Glenn argued back, and Avery scoffed.

"From your redneck? He won't do shit. You're bluffing."

It was Glenn's turn to scoff and shake his head. "Honey, you don't know Daryl. Anyone fucks with his family, and he will end them. You think he's going to let the guy who killed his favorite just walk away with a slap on the wrist? Daryl is going to fucking destroy him."

"Fuck. Daryl."

The Asian closed his eyes and sighed. "You're going to regret that."

"He won't do shit."

"Fine. Then I'll kill your brother."

"What!?"

"Yup. Cali is my best friend, and she's family now. And I don't like it when people fuck with my family either. You don't help her, and I will kill your brother."

Avery pulled her eyes from the tubes and needles, and gave her focus back to Glenn. "You don't have the guts."

"Try me."

Her glare lessened as she looked at him, and she realized that he wasn't fucking bluffing. That kind man would pick up a fucking rock if he needed to, and he would beat her brother to death. She was fucked, Jackson was fucked, and the rest of the ship was fucked.

But she couldn't let them do this, couldn't let them fucking commercialize her. To get enough of her blood to help that Cali chick…it would possibly kill her, and it wasn't like she had an excess amount of blood to put back into her veins here. She would be risking her life, no doubt.

But if she didn't, she threw away her brother's life.

Her fucking brother, who apparently liked to collect dead people and set them loose when he got bored of playing pretend, had completely and totally thrown her to the infected wolves. But she had no choice either; people didn't fuck with her family.

"Fine."

"Fine what?"

"Fine. I'll help your stupid whore." She snarled. "On two conditions."

"Oh great."

"One, no one from your group lays a fucking hand on my brother. Not a single fucking one of you. Understand?"

"Yeah, got it."

"Two. You need to find someone with an O- blood type."

"What? Why?"

"Because if I'm going to help your friend, I'm going to need a transfusion after." Avery sighed, pressing the heel of her hand into her palms. Glenn nodded slowly.

"So…it's your blood then? That's what makes you immune?"

Avery snorted. "Up for a biology lesson huh? Yeah, that's what me and Parish think. Me and Jackson, we both have Thalassemia."

"And that is?"

"Our blood cells are shaped weird. It doesn't carry hemoglobin well, so we're both seriously anemic, but we can't take the iron pills, because our body doesn't have low levels, it just doesn't produce the shit. So we have to get transfusions every now and then.

"Parish seems to think that the Walker-Whatever thing isn't from the Walkers themselves. He thinks it's already in the body, in the blood. And when you get an infection, or maybe even killed a different way, it suddenly activates itself, and changes into a fucking monstrosity, so long as-"

"-So long as the brain is intact." Glenn finished, and Avery nodded.

"Yup. Boom headshot. That's how you win this fucking game."

"And you're not infected…because…"

"Our theory? Because my blood sucks. It doesn't do its job right, and it doesn't travel the way it's supposed to. But, they also think that's my blessing. My blood carries things for shit, and because of that, it carries the disease or whatever wrong. I'll get bit, and I'll get sick, but it'll stop spreading through my body at some point, and it'll get expelled out. I don't know why, Parish doesn't know why, and I'm sure somewhere, God thinks this is all really fucking funny." She growled, and Glenn only shook his head.

"So…you've been bit?"

"Yup." Avery tugged her shirt up, and raised against her skin was an angry red scar, shaped in the jagged half-moon of human teeth.

"Deep red."

"It never stops being red. It doesn't settle, it's always there." She answered, and sighed, dropping her shirt. "Your friend will have one too, if this ends up working."

"Yeah. I think she can live with that, as long as she's living." Glenn sighed, and eyed Avery again. "What's going to happen to her when she gets your blood?"

"In theory, it'll stop spreading the disease, make it noticed by her body, and her immune system will start trying to kick its ass."

"But your disease thing…"

"Yeah, it'll burn out quick, like I said, my blood is for shit. But if Parish has done a good job of blocking it, and she wants to fight it, then it should work. Maybe two or three rounds of blood here."

"How much are you going to give her?"

"I'm only doing this once. Parish can take as much as he needs without killing me. But then I'm not doing this again. Understand?"

All in all, Glenn figured this was the best deal he was ever going to get out of this situation, and Cali was too fucked up to even argue, so this was going to have to be it. This was their one chance. "I understand."

"Stay the fuck away from my brother."

"I will."

"Keep the redneck away from him."

"He won't even learn his name."

"And don't let me die, like a fucking guinea pig."

"You won't."

"Fine. Go find me a blood donor."

"On it."

"Good. Now just leave the fuck alone."

"Avery..."

"Seriously. Just go."

* * *

><p>Lori growled and tugged at the duct tape that secured her arms to her back, also trying to work off the tape that covered her mouth. Apparently she'd lost her speaking privileges after the skinny little fucker who'd tied her up decided she was being a bit too logical about their situation. He hadn't liked the way she was constantly asking him what he planned to do.<p>

Sooner or later, Rick or Daryl was going to track them down, and then Lori would be safe, and she could forget this whole mess.

In front of her, the kid continued to break down. He kept pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself. He used to talk loud enough for Lori to listen, but she'd just hear snippets about his dead children, and that they would pay. She wasn't exactly a genius, but she had a feeling that 'they' meant her and her family.

Suddenly, he leaned into himself and let out a wretched sob from his chest, and leaned against the wall, crying to himself.

His world was crashing down around him, and Lori shook her head.

His world was crashing down, and it just hit her, that this kid was 22 at the oldest.

He was just a kid.

Then, he wiped his eyes, and turned back over to her, and ripped the tape off her mouth. She cried out, but his hand covered her mouth instantly, and there was nothing but steely determination in his eyes. "I need you to stay calm. Understand?" Lori nodded, and made sure to regulate her breathing. The kid nodded and slowly removed his hand from her face. "What do you think they're going to try to do?"

"In what case?"

"If I come out, offering to trade your life for mine."

"They'll see right through that. If you kill me, then they'll just kill you. It's an empty threat."

"But you're a mother, they'll factor that in."

The mother could only scowl, he was right. There was no way any of the Camp would be willing to throw her life away, they'd want the trade. But…only one thing preventing that…"Depends, did you kill anyone from camp?"

"One of the cops, I hear. Not the one that's a dad."

"Shane." Lori's eyes widened, and they flooded with tears. Not Shane, not the man who had saved her and her son, the man who had risked everything for them, the man, who after Rick walked out of his grave, had walked away the best he could.

Shane was dead, because of this fucking kid.

"That won't play into your favor." Lori growled, knowing Rick would be out for blood on this one, no doubt about that.

"One of your women got bit." The kid continued, a smile crossing his face slightly. "She's going to turn, the only one that's going to make it. She'll be my first new child."

"You sick bastard." She could only growl. "Who is it?"

"I don't know her name."

"_Who. Is. It?!_"

"The one named after the State."

Lori had to blink for a second while the information sunk in, then she threw her head back and laughed. The kid slammed his palm against her mouth again. "What the hell is so funny?!"

"You've killed yourself. There's nothing I can do to help you."

"Why's that?!"

"You pissed off the only man on this ship, who isn't afraid to kill you."

* * *

><p>Daryl rolled his eyes, and brought them back down to the floor of the chapel. He didn't know why he was bothering, wasn't like God ever listened to him before, so why would now be any different? The hunter was about to get up when he heard a small noise, and froze. "Who th' fuck's there?" He snarled, and turned around. The brown haired girl with the brace around her hand was half in the door when she smiled sheepishly.<p>

"Sorry, didn't know anyone was in here."

"'S fine. I was jus' leavin'." He answered, getting up. The girl walked in, and sat down in one of the pews, looking at the cross.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Nope."

"Maybe you're looking in the wrong place?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes, and looked at her again. "Who th' fuck're you?"

"Blaine."

"Daryl."

"Pleasure."

"Likewise." He answered and scrubbed a hand across his face. "Ya helped th' chink today right?"

"Glenn?"

"Ain't that what I said?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I helped the chink. He helped me back."

"Ya helped with Nia too."

"That Cali?"

"Ain't never been Cali." Daryl mumbled, the name tasting weird on his tongue. Blaine only nodded.

"You heard what Parish had to say?"

"Sound like a bunch of bullshit."

"Nah, I think it's a good plan."

"Sounds like wishful fuckin' thinking."

Blaine laughed, and shook her head. "That's all we have."

"Ya got some point of view girl."

"I grew up weird." Blaine shrugged, and turned her attention back to the cross. "He's not much a conversationalist, is he?"

"Silent as fuck."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too. But…ever consider he isn't talking in his voice?" Blaine asked, and Daryl cocked an eyebrow at her, and she continued. "Maybe he's never liked talking through a statue, maybe he's trying to talk through the people around you."

"This ain' on'a them 'Touched by An Angel' bullshit, is it? Ya ain't gonn' disappear when I leave or some shit?"

"Does this look like Lifetime? Yeah right." She rolled her eyes. "I just think that your friend has a good chance of making it. And there's a good chance that you'll get the help you need."

"She don't wanna live."

"She doesn't know she can live. She's trying to be strong."

"She's fuckin' scared."

"Just like you."

Daryl's eyes narrowed, and he glared at Blaine, who only cocked an eyebrow up, daring him to challenge her. He turned away, and scowled. "Fuck you."

"It's okay-"

"Don't fuckin' tell me it's fuckin' okay to be scared. I'm fuckin' aware of that! But if I'm scared it means I give up, so fuckin' believe you me, I ain't scared."

Blaine met his glare, and she smiled. "You're fucking terrified."

Daryl scowled, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Th' fuck do you know anyways? An' is it common fuckin' practice for you to chat up people you meet in a fuckin' church?"

"Increasingly, lately." She shrugged. "But don't flatter yourself okay; I didn't exactly have a choice."

"Th' fuck's tha' supposed to mean?"

Blaine stared at him for a second, before pushing the bangs off his face. Daryl flinched under the touch, and narrowed his eyes. She only shook her head and laughed. "No joke, you look just like my brother. There's no way I could leave him alone brooding at a cross, so I figured I'd do the same for you."

"I ain't broodin'."

"Sweetie, you got a face that promises a bartender one hell of a tip."

Daryl turned back to face the girl, who only winked before looking back at the cross. "Ya sure ya ain't gonn' disappear?"

"I'll see you at dinner."

He accepted her answer, and they sat in silence for a while. She was weird, sure, but she did have a point. He was fucking terrified. And who would blame him? Not many people had to sit down and swallow the idea that they might have to put a bullet through the head of someone they cared about. Not many people had to fucking listen as that person begged to just die already. To just fucking watch them cry, and bleed, and puke and pray for death in some fucked up delirious half state.

It was fucking terrifying.

So, maybe this Blaine chick had a point, and maybe there wasn't anything wrong with having a little faith. After all, wishful thinking or not, it was all he had.

"What's your blood type?"

"Th' fuck kinda question is tha'?" He turned back to the girl, cocked an eyebrow back up.

"An important one." She answered sagely. "Possibly one that can change this entire situation."

"Whut's yers?"

"B+, and I am of no use to them."

"Who?"

"Daryl? Blood type?"

"Fuck if I remember."

"Come on, don't even remember a little bit?"

"All I know, is tha' every time I ended up in th' fuckin' hospital, they all but beg me to donate. Never did. Freaks me the fuck out."

"Best news I've heard all day." Blaine grinned. "We're going to need to go see Parish. When you're done, of course."

Daryl settled back into the pew, and stuck his gaze back up at the cross. _Don't you fuck her over, you bastard._ Blaine sat next to him, a content smile on her face, staring up at the cross with him.

"So, I look like yer brother?"

"You could be twins."

"Handsome mother fucker."

"Yeah, I guess, if it wasn't for the crippling fear of commitment and misplaced anger, he could probably be really happy someday. But I'm sure you're nothing like that."

"…Fuck you."

"We're going to have fun. I can tell."

* * *

><p>Parish fluttered around his office, gathering up supplies for a transfusion, while Avery sat stone still on his exam table. He sighed, and gave her a remorseful look. "You don't have to do this."<p>

"Yes I do. They'll kill my brother."

"You know that the Redneck will kill him no matter what, right?"

"Maybe he won't."

"He will."

"Maybe-"

"Honey, if I had the guy who killed Pat right in front of me, there's no way I wouldn't kill him."

Avery winced, and looked down. "You don't think that first time…that Jackson…he did it. Do you?"

"Oh no. There was no way. You hadn't even been bitten yet."

"Beau…I'm sorry about Pat."

Parish sighed, and resumed sterilizing his equipment. "It's alright."

"If I had known I was immune…if I had come to you first…I just didn't want to die, and I was so scared-"

"Okay Honeybunch, listen up." Beau whirled to face her, and he threw his hands on his hips. "That first attack, was a tragedy. And we learned a lot from it, but, and make sure you're listening to me now, but Pat had his foot chewed off. By time he'd been found, he'd lost too much blood. Understand? He lost all of his blood. There was no way immunity was going to be able to help him then."

"I don't want to be immune. I feel like a freak, like a fucking guinea pig." Avery snarled. "I don't want some fucking blood disease that didn't fucking matter a few years ago to define me now. I am not immunity, I'm Avery. And they've all forgotten it. I can't become some magic pill."

"You're still you. This will be the only time you're asked to do this."

Avery only scoffed, and shook her head. "How do you know?"

"I'll make sure of it." Beau promised.

"Same." A voice drawled from the door. Daryl leaned against the frame, arms crossed, and frown etched onto his face. "Ya don' wanna do this again? Tha's fine."

"You're making me do it now."

"Technically I ain't makin' you do shit."

"Glenn said you'd kill my brother if I didn't."

"I'll be honest, I'm plannin' on killin' tha' fucker, no matter what. He's th' reason tha' Shane's dead too."

"He's still my brother!"

"My brother tried to kill Glenn, an' T-Dog. He's still my brother." Daryl shrugged.

"Where is he?"

"Fuck if I know. Last I saw, his fucking friend shot me, and he left me fer dead. After killing two of our friends. They wanted to kill him. I stood up fer him. He's still my brother." He finally smirked. "That doesn't change th' fact tha' he's a lying shithead."

"Please don't kill my brother."

"Ain't up to me." Daryl admitted. "If this works, and Nia ends up okay, then I'm willin' to look th' other way. But I don' answer to you, and if Rick wants him dead. Fucker's dead."

"He's all I have."

"An' these people are all I got. Gotta say, they been better company than my brother would've been." Daryl shrugged, and Avery narrowed her eyes.

"Why the hell are you here? To drop by and say 'hey, I'm planning on killing your brother, thanks for the blood'? Asshole."

"Nope." Daryl shook his head. "I'm yer fuckin' donor."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Avery sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

"Sorry princess. Looks like yer jus' lucky."

"How do I know you haven't got AIDS or some shit?"

Parish shook his head. "He's good, Avery. Clear to donate."

"He's got fucking tattoos!"

"Been well over a year since I got them too." Daryl nodded.

"It had to be you." Avery narrowed her eyes, and Daryl only smirked.

"Could've been Shane, 'cept he's splattered down by th' fuckin' pool. Ya can thank yer brother fer tha'."

"You can go fuck yourself!" Avery growled, and Daryl shrugged.

"Knock it off!" Beau ordered, and glared at them both. "I thought you and Miss Hollywood were bad, but it might just be you."

"Yeah, I'm a fuckin' dick." Daryl shook his head. "I know, I suck."

"Yeah. Agreed." Avery spat, and Beau shook his head.

"Let's just do this, kids. Ready?"

"Sure." Daryl shrugged and leaned against the counter. Beau shook his head.

"No, no. you'll want to be laying down for this. I'm afraid we don't exactly have the time to do a correct transfusion, so we're going to…improvise."

"Like how?"

"Like…dangerous." Beau admitted. "I need a lot of Avery's blood, which means I'll need a lot of your blood."

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "How much?"

"Enough to save Avery from a Stage III Hemorrhage. We're looking at a lot. A little under two liters."

"What?!"

"Two fuckin' liters!?"

"Hey, hold on now." Parish held up his hands. "Daryl, you're bigger than her, and for every 100 pounds on a human, there's seven pints of blood. That's about 3.3 liters. So, Avery'll need the blood, but it shouldn't cause you any serious problems, other than the standard feelings of blood loss. Avery, you'll need blood, immediately, but Daryl should have enough to give you."

"And th' blood for Nia?"

"Yes…" Beau straightened his tie. "Her blood's pretty much bad. I want to drain her blood too, like I'm doing to you two, and then put her on Avery's blood. That way, she'll have more immune in her, than infected. Now, Daryl, would you mind?"

"Ya gonna drain her?"

"How does that work?"

"Well," Parish sighed. "Quite simply, we're going to bleed her out and then put her on the new blood. Our one Saving Grace is that Miss Hollywood is AB, which makes her a universal receiver. You blood type won't even matter Avery."

"Is that going to work?" Avery asked. "Seems a little risky, for everyone involved."

"No risk, no gain." Parish answered, pulling on gloves. "Now, ready Frenchie?"

Daryl nodded, and Avery moved so Daryl could hop up on the bed. He held out his left arm, and Beau tied the tourniquet on his arm, and Daryl winced. Beau examined the skin, and shook his head. "I can't see the vein. Make a fist would you?" Daryl clenched his fist, and Beau nodded. "Perfect." Parish swabbed the area with disinfectant, and swiftly, he stuck the needle into Daryl's arm, and had it attached to the bag in a matter of seconds.

After that, they just watched the bag fill up.

Three bags later, Daryl was definitely feeling it. He was fucking freezing, and judging from the looks Parish and Avery were giving him, he probably didn't look so hot. The piercing in Avery's lip traveled downward. "I think we should stop."

"Almost there."

"He looks like he's going to keel over."

"Well, he'll be fine."

"He's pale as fuck."

"Was when he came in." Beau replied, tone drenched in snark. Daryl tried to lift his arm to flip him off, but it was too much work, and he couldn't bring himself to do it. Parish watched his arm fall, and he cinched the blood flow. "Alright, that should be good enough. He carefully removed the needle and tourniquet, and had the gauze pad pressed against the bleeding before Daryl could even bitch about the pain. "Can you hold this here?" He asked Avery. "I need to get the medical tape."

Avery held the gauze down while Parish ducked out of the room, and she looked at Daryl. "You look like shit."

"Sorta feel like it too."

"So…your brother tried to kill you?"

"Nah, tha' wasn't whu' I said." His voice slurred slightly. "Merle'd never kill me. But tha' fucker ain't ever stayed around to help me either. Always running off to somethin' better. Fuck whatever's waitin' fer me at home."

"He sounds like a dick."

"I'd agree withcha."

"But you still wouldn't let them kill him."

"'S my big brother, whu' th' fuck was I supposed to do?"

"So you see where I'm coming from?"

"Nope. Cuz, when he came back, and he'd attacked Nia, I swear to God I was going to kill the mother fucker. Ya don't choose blood kid, but ya can choose th' rest. An' sometimes, blood just sucks."

"So, you're the only one allowed to kill your brother?"

"Yup."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Anythin' to help."

"You're kind of philosophical for a red neck."

"An' ya can kiss my philosophical ass."

"Yeah, no thanks." Avery rolled her eyes, and Daryl snorted. He pulled himself up, and ignoring the swimming in his head, brought his right hand over the gauze pad. Avery pulled away, and he got up, shakily, so she could take his spot.

"Hey kid."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." it was muttered out of the side of his mouth, eyes fixed on the ground, but for some reason, it actually made her proud of what she was about to do. After all, this immunity had killed so many people through her brother; it was about time it had saved one.

A person who causes no destruction, yet does nothing to prevent it, is just as destructive.

Maybe she would end up doing this again, maybe it would be okay.

Because, she'd never seen someone so hurt look so hopeful before in her life.

And for once, she could do something to fix it.

And that felt amazing, that felt like redemption.

And who couldn't use a little redeeming these days?

"Beau, hurry your fairy ass up! My blood ain't getting any younger!" Avery called, out and smiled at the Redneck. What he gave her back could hardly be counted as a smile, it was more smirk than anything, but all things considered, that was the best she was going to get.

* * *

><p>Cali had learned something really fucking quick. Whatever was inside of her, it was a disease. And this disease, it had some fucked up symptoms. Firstly, there was the constant regurgitation of her blood. That damn bucket she had become white knuckled on was starting to actually fill up, and she wasn't a doctor herself, but she could guess that wasn't exactly a good thing.<p>

The hallucinations came afterword.

She was getting fucking sick of it, the slew of visitors from her past who did nothing but patronize and mock her. Amy bitched her out, Jacqui sat there and clucked her tongue, not letting Cali get a word in edgewise, while a steady parade of Walkers and monsters danced in her head.

But out of all of them, Merle was the meanest. He'd just fucking sit there, and mock her, for the blood, for the tears, for the bite mark on her hand. "Hoo-wee Lil Bird, never thought I'd meet some'n stupid enough to punch a mother fuckin' Walker righ' in the jaw." He cackled as she leaned over the bucket and blood dripped from her mouth.

"Shut your fucking mouth already." She growled, and Merle only rolled his eyes.

"Ya dumb enough to make the mess, then ya gotta be ready to take th' shit. Understand? Ya a dumb lil bitch. Ya ready to die?"

"No."

"Awh don't be scared Nia. Dyin' is super easy. Just lean back and wait for th' bullet to rip your head apart."

"Don't you fucking call me that."

"Don't be so scared then, little girl."

"I'm not scared to die." She snarled. "I'm a little bit scared of what comes after."

"Ya get to meet your God. Ain'tcha excited."

"Why the fuck are you here?"

"Ya missed me."

"You tried to kill me. Twice."

"Past's in th' past."

"I fucking hate you."

"Then why'm I still here?"

"Because go fuck yourself, that's why." She snarled, and instead of Merle answering, she heard a different sound. She opened her eyes, and Glenn was standing in the door, a worried look on his face. She tilted her head. "You real?"

"Last I checked." He answered. "Have you had a lot of not real visitors lately?"

"Yup." Cali answered, reaching blindly for the bucket before she was face first in the plastic once more. Blood spattered the inside, and she laughed to herself while the excess dripped off her chin. Glenn walked inside, and pulled up a chair.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't know. I'm hallucinating. Or delusional. I get the two mixed up. Either way, I'm tripping balls dude." She smiled up at him through red stained teeth, and Glenn flinched. Cali saw, but just shrugged, and wiped the blood off her face. "You here to kill me?"

"You can't be serious?"

"Goddamn it, we kill everyone else super easy, why they fuck is that courtesy not extended to me?"

"Didn't Parish come talk to you?"

"He was here. I think, but when he was talking, Merle kept distracting me, then Wade and Merle got into it, and Amy started yelling at them both, and every time I close my eyes there's a Walker waiting for me, and no one has their eyes anymore, and I'm coughing up my vocal cords, and I'm breaking apart blood vessel by blood vessel, my fucking cells are killing themselves. And I just want to die." Cali muttered, and Glenn frowned at her, and took off his hat.

"Is that really what it feels like?" He asked, and Cali nodded and brushed her hand under her nose. Not ten seconds later, blood began dripping from her right nostril, and Cali only smiled as she brought her stained shirt up to stop the bleeding.

"It feels like the Devil and God are raging inside of me. And I can't fucking take it anymore Glenn. I need to let go."

"I'm not going to kill you."

"Come on, be a pal."

"Quit asking me."

"Quit saying no."

Glenn sighed, and pressed his hand against her forehead. He made slight contact before he pulled his hand away in shock. "Holy shit."

"Still hot as hell?"

"Like the Third Circle."

"Damn, why would you make me gluttony?" She spat. "I'm way cooler than that."

"Cali, you did hear what Parish had to say, right?"

Cali frowned, and closed her eyes. "I don't like it. It seems really fucking unnatural, weird, and against the natural order."

"Cali, you got bit by something that had died, and came back to life."

"Well…abnormal for our normal." Cali shook her head. "There's no such thing as immunity Glenn. There never has been."

"Cali, there has to be. This this is a sickness, and there's always a group in every plague that's immune. It's natural order."

"There is no fucking order. I don't like it." She shook her head.

"It's going to happen."

"For what? Another extension of a life that seriously hurts more than anything I can possibly imagine. I'm already dead Glenn, and I just want you all to let me die."

"We're not ready to let you go."

"Like you have a choice."

"And you do? What are you going to do? Beat us up? We can make this happen."

"You bastard. You wouldn't."

"I have to." Glenn shrugged.

"I'll kill myself first."

"With what?"

"I'll run off the damn deck, and jump right into the ocean."

"Yeah…I really wish you hadn't said anything." Glenn frowned, and his face turned slightly red. Cali lifted any eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

Glenn didn't answer, instead, he jumped on top of her, and pulled her arm up to the headboard, and before Cali could gather enough strength to fight him off, he had her arm tied up with a belt, cinched so she couldn't even fucking move it. Cali stared at it, then at Glenn, and she snarled. "What the fuck is this!?"

"Daryl said if you threatened to do anything stupid, I was supposed to do this."

Cali blinked, and tried to lift up her free arms to work at the knot of leather her hand was trapped in. But, it wasn't any good. She'd lost a lot of blood, and her body hurt too much, and was too tired to even attempt to suspend her arm in the air. It dropped back down to the bed with a flop, and Cali glared at the belt.

"That mother fucker." She snarled. "He promised me death."

"And you believed him?"

"He's never broken a promise before."

"I know." Glenn answered. "And way before be promised you that, he promised me he'd look out for you. He's only trying to do both."

Cali stared up at Glenn, then at her belted hand, and her eyes welled up again. "That mother fucker."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks yous!:<strong>

**CheshireGrinn: I know. I know. Every freaking time lol.**

**Hahaha I'm flattered! If you do so desire, I would LOVE for you to print this out and keep it. If you want to, then you should be able to. **

**Thanks girl!**

**If Nia was real…God I would be the happiest person in the world! No joke, I don't see a problem with putting her on the show! Do you?**

**Bloodrope: What's a good zombie story without any immunity?!**

**I didn't exactly have Avery on Daryl's side, but let's all admit it, Daryl could talk a nun into becoming a hooker, he just doesn't like to. **

**And sadly, Avery doesn't do anything out of her 'good moral conscious', there always has to be something that benefits her. **

**I would LOVE A BETA! PLEASE!**

**Klekje:**

**Ahhh I'm so glad to hear you liked it!**

**You live in Holland?! That is sooo COOL!**

**Well, anything to make your drive better :D**

**Thank you so much for reviewing!**

**LaciL: I'm so glad that Daryl's 'softness' fit. I always worry about doing something so drastic with his character when we see little to know evidence of him actually having a soft side. I'm glad he still came across in character! Whew!**

**No offense, but yes! I do not like Daryl/Carol in the slightest! Lol**

**KamuiLumior: I'm so glad you happy dance! Every time I get a review I have a happy dance party myself!**

**Mad skills!? Thanks so much dear!**

**Avery, oooh Avery is a little bitch isn't she? :D but she has her reasons, I suppose. **

**I don't know yet if Cali's going to die, after all, it's up to you guys, and what you vote on. So let me hear ya!**

**And what will Daryl do to Jackson…hmmm what do you want to see? :D**

**PlasticCandy: **

**Hope your NANoWriMo is going well! Ahhh go with Daryl-centric! He is so fun!**

**Fucking Avery indeed! I'm sure there's a soul in that little bitch somewhere. They'll have to find it. **

**And, you want Daryl to beat the fuck out of Jackson then?**

**How did you like my explanation of her immunity? Believable enough? :)**

**Nelle07:**

**Ahhh I'm so glad you liked his speech! I was very worried about how that would go over! I'm glad people seemed to like it!**

**Awh I'm sorry I made you cry!**

**Thanks for the review!**

**Thanks to all my Little Zombies reading, and remember! Vote for what you want Daryl to do to Jackson, and if you want Cali to live!**

**Love you all!**

**-Eris. **


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's note: Oh goodness, you all know what you want don't you xD Well, hope you enjoy! **

**SuperDuperSpecialThanks: Everyone, worship my new beautiful Beta, Bloodrope! She's talked me off the edge several times with this chapter, and it should read much better now!**

**Say it with me, class. Thank You Bloodrope! :DDD**

**Anyways, other than that, I don't have much to say! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Walking Dead, and there is swearing, blood and violence in this chapter.**

Chapter 22: Your Tears Feel Warm As They Fall On My Forearms

When Beau got to Cali's room, a few bags of Avery's blood in his briefcase, she was playing cards with Glenn. It was enough to pause his focused stride by how normal the situation seemed. The game was fast paced, they'd each place a card down, one would take both cards, and they'd keep going. Hand after hand after hand. The best that California could, balancing all her cards in one hand.

Finally, things that didn't make sense started popping up. Like the intense sadness in Glenn's eyes, or the dried blood on Cali's face. The belt that secured California to the bed was a bit of an anomaly as well, seeing as she either hadn't, or couldn't, escape from the leather. She just awkwardly balanced her cards on her knee, the bucket on the other, and she played with Glenn untilshe was scrambling for the bucket and blood came flying out of her mouth once more. Her eyes weren't focused, and every now and then, they'd shift to a different corner of the room, as if she was seeing something the rest of them couldn't. There was a good chance she was, after all, from what Parish had been able to study from the infected he'd encountered. If they weren't put out of their misery, they were often subjected to mental breakdown, to the point of insanity, and Miss Hollywood looked like she was succumbing to the insanity that was creeping into her mind and crawling in the edge of her vision.

They were going to lose her soon; Parish could see it now, plain as day. She wasn't going to last much longer on her own.

"Hello lovelies!" Parish painted on a happy face as he sashayed into the room. Glenn cocked an eyebrow and Cali only rolled her yellowing eyes.

"You're so gay."

"And I do like boys." He winked back at the girl. "And I brought you the blood."

"I don't want it."

"That's ridiculous." Beau admonished her with a pointed look. "You need this."

"I don't want it. I don't want something that might not work." Cali shook her head. "The hope hurts more than dying."

"Miss Hollywood, we have to try."

"No." Cali snarled, and looked like she was about ready to fight. Beau only ignored her, however and turned to Glenn.

"You're her roommate, best friend; could one dare say her brother?"

"I'd answer to that." Glenn nodded, and Beau smirked at Cali.

"Your sister's mental state is deteriorating. She can't make her own choice here, she's not mentally sound-"

"You piece of shit."

"So, do you think she'd want us to continue treatment?" Beau asked, his face a perfect mask of medical lingo and loopholes.

"I'm perfectly fine!"

"You see dead people."

"Only some!"

"Yeah." Glenn shook his head. "Continue treatment. We want that."

"No, _we_ don't." Cali shook her head, and glared. "I don't want this."

"Don't make me sedate you."

Cali's eyes narrowed, startlingly clear for the moment. "You wouldn't."

"Oh you know I would. Now, either take your medicine like a big girl, or I'll put you under and we'll give you the medicine either way. Your choice." Cali frowned, and looked down at her bloodstained hand. At that moment, Parish did not envy the young girl. She was alone, bordering between life, death, and the undead, with each path carrying its own unique pain, a delectable difference between them all. Life meant love, family and not being a monster. Death mean reprieve, a sweet moment of freedom, to stand with the fallen again, and have nothing hurt, ever again.

But the third option, that meant hell, pain, death again, darkness and becoming a monster. And that little girl, she didn't want to be a monster. More than anything else, she didn't want these people to see her like that; she didn't want to be remembered as the creature they had to put down. And she sure as fuck didn't want Daryl to have to put her down as something dangerous, something that could hurt him.

She had to make a decision that Beau had only seen relatives of coma patients deliberate over, but never someone weighing the pros and cons of pulling their own plug. It almost made him hate the job that he had willingly subjected himself too. He'd had those days every now and then where he'd come home from work angry as all hell and sick of his job. On those nights, Pat would make him a strong drink, and just hold him while Beau trembled from the pressure of the day. It became almost routine for them. If Beau came home with wet eyes, or dead eyes, it was a drink, a cry and a movie night.

His heart clenched, and he bit his lip. He missed Pat, with every ounce of every cell, he missed that man, and God help him if he didn't wake up to an empty bed every morning and wish that he could've done something…anything…differently. It was something he'd never wipe his hands of, a stain that was permanently on his soul.

And there was no way in hell that Beauregard Parish was going to wish that pain and regret on any other human being.

Even if that human was Daryl Dixon.

"Miss Hollywood, it's for the best." He whispered, and she snorted, then immediately winced when blood started flowing out of her nose.

"Keeping me on a ventilator when there's no way my lungs are getting fixed, isn't for the best."

"You have to let us do this, if you won't do it for yourself-"

"If you mention Daryl, I will claw your eyes out."

"-then do it for the world, California. If this works, we might be that much closer to a cure, and we could stop this, for good."

Cali clenched her jaw, and shook her head. "Fine. But when this fails, and it will, can someone please put a fucking bullet in my brain?" Her eyes looked past the doctor and the pizza boy. "I can't listen to them anymore."

"Who?"

"Them," Cali jerked her head into the emptiness of the room."The dead. The fallen, they're everywhere in here, and if I have to watch my mother cry one more time, I will scratch my own fucking brain out. Please, just promise to kill me."

"Okay." Glenn nodded. "If this doesn't work, we'll let you die."

"That's not what I said. When this doesn't work, I want a bullet in the brain."

"Fine. Deal."

Beau nodded, and began setting up the IV that would administer Avery's blood into Cali's body. She watched him idly, picking dried blood from her palms. "You ready?"

"Sure." Cali droned, and offered up her free arm. Beau swabbed disinfectant over her arm and attached the hose to the bag, set it up on the stand, and then pulled out a scalpel. Cali flinched. "What the fuck is that for?!"

"I need to make sure that your body immediately circulates the immune blood, so we're getting rid of most of yours. If it helps, it's all broken anyway. Carrying nothing but that thing." He placed the scalpel at the hollow of her wrist. "Do you trust me?"

"Sure. Go for it." She answered, but when the blade first bit into her skin, she screwed her eyes shut and looked away. Beau held the bucket under it, and drained the infected blood from her. He couldn't scientifically prove it, but it looked darker, and thicker than it should, like it was clogging the veins, instead of flowing through. Cali still kept her eyes shut, and looking away. Glenn laced his fingers with the hand that was belted to the bed, watching with fascination as Parish worked.

After a while, Cali's pale skin became deathly white, and her breathing became shallow. Finally, when she started shivering, Beau pressed a gauze pad against the cut, and pressed and hard against the middle of her upper forearm. Glenn lifted an eyebrow. "Why are you doing that?"

"To stop the bleeding before I put on the tourniquet and thenstich the cut up." Beau answered with a smile, glad that the young man seemed to be showing so much interest. "Think you could help?"

"Sure."

"Traitor." Cali mumbled between white lips. Glenn rolled his eyes, and grabbed the tourniquet from Beau's bag.

"How do I…?"

"Place it at the joint," Beau instructed and Glenn did as he was told. "Good, now tie it like you would tie your shoelaces, but without the bow. Tight, so that blood flow stops." Glenn followed the instructions, and Cali whimpered. "That's it then." Beau smiled, and brought out his needle and thread, and began closing up the cut he left on Cali's arm. Glenn paid close attention as he did so, and once the wound was closed, he nodded at Glenn who removed the tourniquet and watched as a little bit more color returned to the limb. Parish bandaged it quickly, and unbelted Cali's other arm from the bed.

"So, you just put the blood in, and it should fight off…whatever it is?"

"That's the plan. However, I'm not sure how it'll react…what 'fighting it off' looks like." Beau explained as he disinfected the area of the uninjured arm where the IV would go in. He smiled at Glenn, who set up the tourniquet once more, and Beau swiftly set up the port, and inserted the needle. He gave the bag of Avery's blood a squeeze or two, before it began flowing down the line, and into Cali.

"And now we wait?"

"And now we wait."

* * *

><p>Rick placed his hands palm down on the table and surveyed the faces of those surrounding him. Dale looked back with a worried expression, not that the elderly gentlemen wore many others these days. Then sat Andrea, who was seated by two gentlemen from the crew that had offered to help track down Lori, and try and find the man responsible for the massacre that had taken place earlier that day. The sun was already sinking down below the horizon and most the ship had returned to their fantasies, found themselves lining up for dinner a few floors below Rick and his company. The Sherriff looked around the table with grief stricken eyes. He'd lost a lot today, and his hands were still covered in the blood of the people he'd saved from reanimation. He was more than ready to let the sun sink, and rise again on this day. It was better that way. It would've been too, if he hadn't been handed a note today, from a dying passenger.<p>

**Rick-**

**She said your name was Rick. At least, that's the one she screams when she's scared.**

**I had to decide between 'Rick' and 'Carl', so I hope I got this right.**

**I'm not an unreasonable man. I think we can come to an agreement.**

**Lori really hopes we can.**

**-J**

"Anyone seen Glenn or Daryl?" His voice gravely and shook with unreleased fury.

"Saw Glenn a little bit ago. I think he's still reeling from earlier." Dale volunteered, and Rick nodded.

"And Daryl?"

"I'm sure he's okay." Dale answered once more, his calm voice keeping the tension in the room at bay. The door to the Captain's room opened and Blaine walked in, rubbing absentmindedly on the brace on her arm and the bandage on her neck. Rick glanced her over.

"You see Glenn or Daryl?"

"Yup." She popped her 'p'. "Glenn's taking a breather, he's been running around since this morning, and he was almost eaten…so, I came to take his place in this meeting. And Daryl? Some people had some really bad cuts and needed some blood. Turns out, he's a universal donor, so Parish sweet talked him to helping out. He's not standing on two feet at the moment, got him shoving cookies and apple juice down his damn throat." Blaine explained as she sat down next to a few of the crew, Rick nodded as he absorbed the information.

"They're okay?"

"Oh yeah, they're both fine."

"Heard anything on California?" Dale asked, and Blaine blinked.

"She's seasick. Or some kinda sick. She had a fright earlier in the doctor's office, so I think it set her stomach off on some sort of revolt against the rest of her body."

"Sure sounds like her." Rick shook his head. "Good to know my ducks are in order then. It's time we sniff out this fucker who caused all of this."

"It's Jackson Wyland." One of the crew spoke up.

"Does Avery know you're going for her brother?"

"She doesn't." Rick answered. "But he's caused too much damage to keep around."

"That's her family."

"Her family killed mine." Rick snarled, "And I won't have him go unpunished...he has my wife. I'm not letting him get away with this shit. He goes down."

"Is there any alternative to killing him?" Dale asked and every pair of eyes shot to the man. "Now, don't look at me like I'm senile, this is a young kid, it's possible to rehabilitate him."

"I'm all for letting everyone get their piece," Blaine spoke, "But you don't understand. This isn't the first attack he's released on us and it won't be the last. He'll find a way, I'm sure he will. He's mentally unstable; he hid Walkers in the freezer for Christ's sake. This boy, he's dangerous. Too dangerous."

"He's still a person-"

"He's not a person worth saving." Andrea argued. "Do you know how many people died today?"

"No, but-"

"Fifty. This boy released twenty Walkers in total, and took fifty people down with them."

"How did he hide that many?"

"There's other freezers. There's the barge, there's the brig." A crew member, who Rick had dubbed 'Crow', for the tattoos up his arms, answered. "A million places on this ship that no one goes to. There's no discernible reason to. It just wouldn't make sense."

"The boy is a monster." Blaine agreed. "Plain and simple."

"So, you're going to kill him."

"Yeah, that's the plan." Rick nodded. "This kid has a lot of blood on his hands, and that's the blood of my kin. He ain't walking away."

"He's taken out most of the crew too. And now the Captain." Crow crossed his arms, the birds inked into his skin stretched, and looked like they were about ready to take flight. "He's a monster."

"He's taken out more people now than any other killer I can think of."

"He's got to go." Blaine agreed.

"Sorry Dale," Rick sighed. "But you're outnumbered here."

"We're going to kill this kid, but we let Merle Dixon walk away?"

"That was Shiloh's kill."

"So whose kill is this?" Dale asked.

The room looked at each other. Everyone had reason to want this boy dead. Rick watched Walkers tear apart his best friend and now, Jackson had his wife hidden away where they hadn't yet found him. Blaine had her throat slit and had to pull her hand out of its joint, to run from being eaten alive. God knows how many of the crewmen had fallen because of this boy.

They all eyed each other.

_Who's kill indeed._

"Well fuck, if ya'll ain' jumpin' fer th' fuckin' chance, I'll take it."

They all turned towards the door, where Daryl leaned against the frame, his usually dark skin was paler, but his eyes were bright and focused. He twisted his mouth into a smirk. Rick gave him a relieved look and scrubbed his hand across his face. "And you want the kill?"

"Yeah, I'll take it."

"Why?" Dale asked. The old man had a hard time believing it was out of the good of Daryl's heart that he was willing to go after the slightly crazy man with pet Walkers. Dixon wasn't stupid and didn't often make strange, off the cuff choices. Self-preservation was his number one rule.

"I can find where he's been, an' I can find where he gonn' be." Daryl answered.

"What about your arm? Is your shoulder better?" Andrea questioned, and Daryl only rolled his eyes.

"Ain't my first bullet, won' be my last. 'M fine. So, ya want me to get this fucker or what?" Daryl asked.

"It's almost better that way." Crow spoke up. "If one of us kills him, it's just violence in revenge. But he's impartial yeah? Just another executioner."

"Would you be humane?" Dale asked, and Daryl nodded.

"Yup. Gentle as a fuckin' Yank." He smirked, and everyone else nodded and accepted his answer. Blaine scowled, and exhaled quietly.

A liar. Daryl Dixon was a liar, and a damn good one at that. She hadn't realized the manipulative power the Good Ol' Boy seemed to have mastery over. She was impressed, she'd give him that.

"Nice and clean." Rick ordered. "He's got my wife-"

"I'll git her out fine, ya know I will." Daryl snorted.

"How's the blood-"

"Go'damn it. I'm fine." Daryl snarled, "And since non'a ya are gonn' kill the fucker, I'll do it. Sooner better than later. I mean fuck, he's gotta get gone. Fuckin' now."

Rick thought about the situation and realized that he had no choice. "Be humane. Quick and clean."

"Consider it done."

"I want him dead before the sun rises."

"Awh, it'll be way before tha'."

"Good." Rick nodded.

"Daryl, how's California doing?" Dale asked, and Daryl visibly flinched before steeling himself off once more.

"Dunno, she didn't look so good last I saw." He mumbled before turning away, and heading out the door.

Dale and Ricked glanced at each other, then at the retreating figure of the Redneck as he headed back onto the deck. "Was it something I said?" Dale questioned, and Rick shook his head.

"I think we just got played."

* * *

><p>She wouldn't have seen it if they hadn't told her what a monster her brother was. Avery hadn't seen any of it, but now, as she leaned heavily against the wall, a bag of Daryl's blood dripping towards empty in the office that she left behind, Avery saw the carnage. There was blood everywhere, the coppery scent invaded her nose, as she walked carefully along the slicked hallways.<p>

This was Jackson's fault, he had caused this.

That idea was still completely foreign to her. That her protective big brother could have done this and she could not have known.

_You didn't want to know._

No, that wasn't true either. If this was happening, then she would've wanted to know. She could've helped him, helped Jackson try a little harder to be normal; to not raise Walkers like they were pets and subject their friends to the constant state of terror that broke their mentality and left them all quivering forms of what they once were.

How could he have done this?

She pulled her drained body up another set of stairs.

Trust was hard on a good day, but now? She didn't trust any of them as far as she could throw them. And she'd paid her pound of flesh; she was getting her end of the bargain. No one was going to kill her brother, she wouldn't allow it. So, if she needed to, they were going to run, and run as far as they possibly could.

They couldn't stay here, not anymore.

She reached the top stair and her body collapsed again. Her head was swimming and she couldn't bring herself to focus long enough to really figure out her plan. She just knew she had to save her brother. He was the one who put Band-Aids on her knees after she fell off her bike, and snuck her food when she was in trouble, and told her she looked pretty for every school dance, and then threatened her date at the door, before their father could even get the chance.

That was her brother, her big brother. Her protector.

_They wanted to kill him. I stood up for him. "He's still my brother". Daryl smirked at her. "That doesn't change the fact that he's a lying shithead."_

No, no, no. How could she not see this? Wasn't the point of her being immune supposed to make her avoid the crazy too? She didn't share their fear, so she was sane.

How did she not see this?

Avery pulled herself up from the ground and glanced around. She'd made it; the High Roller Rooms. Of course this is where he was. No one went up here, no one even thought about it anymore. Even that smart little bitch Blaine wouldn't have these in her fucking know-it-all head. She pulled herself around and listened carefully.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

_Gotcha._

Avery reached out to the door, and knocked, the sound barely resonating she was still so weak. She heard a shuffle and a body press itself against the door, and then she heard the lock click and the next thing she knew Jackson was holding her up. "Av? What happened?!"

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Hiding?"

"Why? And what the fuck have you done!?" She asked, but he wasn't listening, all he saw was how pale she looked, and the way her limbs seemed so heavy to her.

"What happened to you?"

"I didn't finish the transfusion, I had to find you."

"What did you need a transfusion for?" Jackson's eyes narrowed as he helped Avery over to the couch. She pressed her hand against her forehead.

"I gave them blood."

"What!? You commercialized us?!" He snarled and Avery glared.

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't released a bunch of fucking Walkers on the ship! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"They don't hurt us, Avery, they aren't our enemy, they're our friends. But these people? Look how they've used us, hurt us. They stole your blood to save one of their own." Jackson spat. "They're the monsters, the greed and destruction caused by humans surpasses any damage I've caused."

"You killed 50 people today."

"No, I reanimated 50 people today, the new people, they killed them. They're the ones that caused the death. Life follows my death. Nothing follows theirs." Jackson lectured. "And you just gave them something that we agreed to never talk about. You gave them our gift."

"I didn't have a fucking choice!" Avery snarled, trying to sit up. "It was either help them, or they fucking kill you. Do you understand that? And they're still going to, there's no way that man isn't going to come for you, not after the pain you've caused him."

"Hmmm. Would this be the Redneck?"

"…How did you know that?"

Jackson made a sweeping motion with his hands. "She's been more forthcoming with names and information lately." Avery followed his hand and she saw Lori, bound and gagged, shoved into a corner. There were cuts on her face and her nose was bleeding freely. Her eyes were wide and frozen with fear, as they bounced between the Wyland siblings.

"What the fuck have you done?!"

"I bought myself life insurance." Jackson explained. "It's a ship; it won't be long before they find me. At least if I have her, they'll be less likely to kill me."

"Oh, you've signed your death certificate big brother."

"It'll be fine."

"No, it won't. They're going to try to kill, and I'm not losing you. We have to get out of here. We have to go!"

"Where will we go?"

"We'll get to land, we'll find a way, but we can't stay here or they'll kill us both! We have to go!"

"There's nothing for us there, Avery."

"We'll make something."

"There's nothing." Jackson repeated, and left his sister on the couch, to stroke Lori's face. The mother flinched and screwed her eyes shut. "But it's okay. As long as we have her, we're safe. Do you understand?"

Avery swallowed the fear in her gut, and sighed. There had to be something she could do, anything she could do.

But there wasn't. Her brother had walked into the darkness, and in her loyalty she had sold her soul as well. It was only a matter of time before they came for them, and they would have to make a choice.

_So you're the only one allowed to kill your brother?_

_Yup._

_I'll keep that in mind._

There would be the choice that they made.

And then the choice that she would have to make.

* * *

><p>At first it had been soothing. The new blood was scorching, and it melted the ice her body felt like it was incased in. Once she was warm, the blood felt cool, flowing through her like an icepack. It made her sleepy though, and she could barely keep her eyes open. Parish and Glenn were talking amongst themselves, but she couldn't understand their conversation. She couldn't hear anything very well, like she was underwater, and everyone else was standing outside of the pool.<p>

Then her immune system jumpstarted.

Cali flew up from the bed screaming. All of her nerves were on fire and she couldn't find the strength to try to apply pressure to the pain anywhere. Her hands tangled themselves in her hair and her body curled in on itself. "Fuck me!" she screamed, before clenching her jaw against an onslaught of pain once more. Her skin flared with heat and she felt someone press a hand against her forehead.

"Jesus Christ she's on fire."

"What should we do?"

"Get out. I'll handle this."

"What?! But she's-"

"Glenn! Get out! I'll take care of her, just go!"

Cali screamed again, as tears squeezed out from behind her eyes. Everything hurt, so much more, than before. Where cells had nearly died before, they were fucking imploding inside of her, and the sensation of bugs crawling all over her had her shaking desperately. "Fuck! Help me!"

A pair of hands had her pressed down, and she thrashed against them. "California! You're okay!"

"Fuck!" She screamed again, and desperately clawed towards the IV in her arm. "Get that out of me! It's fucking killing me!"

"Fight through it Cali! You have to be strong for this!"

"Make it stop!" Cali sobbed and she heard laughing. Her body tensed more. She didn't need them to come back, she didn't want them here. _No no no no no no no._

"Awh, look at her cry." Merle laughed and shook his head. "She ain't gonn' last much longer."

"Shut up." Wade glared at Merle, before turning to Cali and smiling. "It's okay Baby Girl, it's okay. Just let go. It'll feel a lot better that way."

"Leave me alone." She screamed through her teeth as she tried even harder to reach for the IV. Parish grabbed her wrist and held it against the bed. She howled in pain once more, and tried to thrash away from him.

"It's not real! Whatever you see it's not real!" Beau yelled at her, and she forced her eyes open through the pain, and saw the person standing behind Parish.

Brown, dull eyes ringed in red and half of a grin, where the flesh was peeled in an attempt to form a sideway grin and lastly, the broken mangled body. She was a Walker. God she was a monster, hideous and disgusting, with blood painting the front of her shirt. "Oh my God! Kill me! You have to fucking kill me!" She screamed to Parish, who only held her down tighter.

"Cali, you need to calm down! Your heart rate-"

Her screaming interrupted him once more, as a new wave of the pain ripped right through her. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck she was going to die here.

"Just let go baby."

"Com'n girl. It's easier if you don't fight it."

"Please, please!" Cali cried as tears poured out of her eyes. "Just let me go, please just let me go!"

"Cali!" Beau's voice was strained as she fought against him harder.

It was too fucking hot.

She was never going to make it.

Help. She needed help.

With a force of strength she didn't realize she possessed, Cali threw Parish off of her. He hit the ground hard, but she hardly noticed as she pulled the IV out of her arm and tossed it away from her. Her stomach slammed itself against her ribcage and she found her bucket and heaved lungful after lungful of blood into the reciprocal. At some point, Parish pulled himself over to her, and held onto her while she continued to puke.

"Let it out, that's not blood, I don't know what it is." He murmured to her, and it was enough to get Cali to open her eyes, and she saw the deep red of what was spilling out of her mouth. It was too thick to be blood, there was no way it was blood, and it was coming out rapidly. "Jesus." Beau whispered, and Cali felt the liquid pour out of her mouth, and trickle out her ears.

"Oh God." She moaned, while Beau only rubbed her back.

"Get it out sweetie, you need to get it out."

After another mouthful of the gunk, Cali's body went rigid, she let out another moan of pain through teeth clenched so tightly she thought they might snap off, before every muscle in her body failed, and she dropped forward onto the bloodstained bed.

Beau relaxed against the wall and let his breathing regulate for a second. He placed his hand on her side, and felt her raggedly inhale a breath, that went out just as difficulty.

He was going to make her put another bag in, just to make sure, but he remembered how Avery had described the hell that came with living, and he wasn't medically certain, but he was pretty sure Cali had just made it through.

Her body was a mess, and she'd been ripped apart more than a few times in the last day. Her mental state was questionable, and recovery looked extensive, but under his palm, she was breathing, and that was good enough for Beau.

It always had been.

* * *

><p>Glenn didn't know where he was going, he just knew that he couldn't sit outside of his and Cali's room and pretend he didn't hear her scream through the walls. So, in an attempt to soothe the turmoil in his own body, he'd begun walking the decks, head clearing as he descended. There was so much that had happened today, and really, he just wanted to snag a few hours of sleep. He wanted sleep, food, and the promise that everything was going to be okay.<p>

Fat fucking chance he was going to get that though.

So instead, he walked until he was outside of Parish's office, and he paused outside of the door. He really should talk to her; after all, she had done something priceless for them. Steeling his nerves, he pushed the door open. He took a few steps in, before he almost lost his footing, blindly sliding through the slickness of the floor. Once his balance was regained, he quickly glanced around.

There was blood on the floor, and a lot of it. Glenn's eyes immediately shot to the exam table, and he found it empty, with a drained bag of blood on it, while another drained bag hanged bone dry from the IV pole, its contents spread across the floor of Parish's office. The Pizza Boy blinked, and took in the scene, before idly thinking that Daryl would be pissed about how she wasted his blood. Then, Glenn realized that Avery wasn't there. "Avery?" He called into the office, working around the puddle of blood. No answer.

"Fuck." Glenn shook his head, and worked his way back towards the door. This was a fucking nightmare. As if all that shit with Cali wasn't bad enough, now Avery was missing, and had probably run straight to her brother, and they were jumping deck right now. Glenn threw the door open, and stepped outside, where Daryl was leaning against the wall, six cookies crushed in his hand, and a water bottle in the other. His eyes were following the blood droplets that had dried into the ground and the fresh blood that was painted on Glenn's shoes. Daryl glanced at him, then back at the shoes.

"Glad I wasn' there when ya finally flipped."

"Avery's missing." Glenn told him, and Daryl nodded.

"Figured. But she ain't tha' smart. Didn't even try to stop th' bleeding. She pained a fuckin' good trail fer me." Daryl smirked and shoved another cookie in his mouth.

"Uh…what's up with the…"

"Blood loss thing." Daryl answered, and swept his eyes from Parish's office to the stairs. He pushed off the wall, and started towards the stairs. Glenn caught up with him.

"Where are you going?"

"Kill th' fucker."

"…With what."

"My bare fuckin' hands if I have to." Daryl's voice had gone deadly, and dark. Glenn only nodded and followed Daryl for a bit, until they were at the bottom of the stairs. Daryl glanced up, and looked back at Glenn. "Ya go an' tell Rick tha' th' fucker's up, alright? He'll be wantin' some of this."

"Alright." Glenn nodded, and Daryl glanced at the ground again.

"Ya know anythin' about Nia?" the hunter all but mumbled, and Glenn shook his head.

"Nothing new."

"Tha' screamin'?"

Glenn swallowed, and that was answer enough for Daryl. He clenched his fist, and his eyes shot up towards the next deck. His jaw set tightly, and he started sprinting up the steps, and then was swiftly out of sight.

Quickly, the young man hustled towards the dining hall, and searched out Rick, who was sitting with the rest of the group, and a few crew members, judging on the uniform them were wearing. He rushed over, and placed his palms on the table. "Daryl says he found the guy."

The group stopped talking, and all zeroed in on the pizza boy. Most of them looked smug at the news, while Blaine only raised an eyebrow, and Dale looked worried. Rick glanced up from a wrinkled piece of paper, and when he spoke, Glenn was shocked by the amount of pain and anger Rick's voice held as he spoke over the silence. "Where?"

"He just said up."

"The Rollers." One of the crewmembers spoke, tattoos of ravens painted up his arms. "Figured he'd go there."

"The Rollers?" Dale questioned.

"That's where our first outbreak came from." Blaine explained. "The High Roller rooms. It's unspoken that no one goes up there. It's a graveyard of sorts, plus, the word is that Death is still living up there."

"What a perfect place to hide then." Rick nodded.

"Yeah," Glenn agreed. "So if you want a piece, or whatever, I'd hurry up…Daryl won't wait very long."

"What do you mean?" Dale asked, and Glenn shrugged.

"He's not going to wait very long, after what this guy did to Cali-" Blaine desperately motioned for him to shut up, but he missed the signal.

"What did he do to Cali?" Rick asked, eyes narrowed. A quick glance to Blaine told Glenn that the truth wasn't an option.

"He beat on her pretty good." Glenn came up with as he went. "Knocked her around, Parish is with her now, trying to fix her up…Daryl didn't tell you that?"

"No." Dale frowned. "He specifically left that out. We need to get up there, now." He stood up, and the rest of the group stared at him. "Well, come on!"

"Why?" Crow Tattoos asked, and the rest of the group nodded. Dale only blinked.

"It's Daryl! You think he's going to just catch the man? No. Daryl is going to torture him, and that isn't what we agreed on! We said he was going to be put down humanely! Daryl Dixon doesn't know humane." No one in the group said anything, and Dale only gaped at them, looking around. "So that's it, we're just going to look the other way while Daryl destroys this kid?"

"He's killed most of my crew."

"He killed fifty people today."

Rick glanced up from the paper in his hands. "He killed Shane."

Dale looked around at each face, most of them impassive, some angry, and then there was Blaine. Confliction. Yet, her human nature won out, and she only shook her head. No one wanted him to live, that Dale understood, however, letting the kid be broken and tortured? No.

Dale wasn't about to let that happen.

Instead, Dale grabbed a gun from the collective pile on the table, and looked around again. "You're going to let Daryl do this?"

"We'll get up there." Andrea answered. "It'll just take some time to get our bearings in order." A few of the crewmen laughed, and Crow nodded in approval. Rick crushed the note in his hand, and looked at Dale.

"He killed my best friend. He has my wife." He snarled. "I know how Daryl feels, and I'll be honest, it ain't like he's getting any less dead. I don't care how he gets there, so long as by the time the sun comes up, he's not breathing anymore."

* * *

><p>It hadn't been hard to find out where that little fucker was hiding, not with the noise that came with smacking a crying woman. Just the idea of that man in there beating on Lori was enough to ignite the southern blood that pumped through Daryl's veins, but he held off. After all, his job was to take out Jackson, and he wasn't going to be able to do that if Avery was still in there. He wasn't supposed to take her down.<p>

It took some waiting, and some nursing a water bottle that had long since gone dry, but the door he'd been watching from the end of the hall finally opened, and Avery's wiry little frame walked out, released a sob, and hunched over, before standing up straight again, and hauling ass away from the door, back down the stairs.

Daryl counted to twenty, an old hunter's trick that his brother had taught him, before he moved towards the door, and knocked, before moving to the right of the door. There was a sound inside, and the door opened slowly, before widening more as a shaggy head of brown popped out, looking to the left of the hall, where Avery had left.

His hand shot out, and he grabbed the kid by the hair, and threw him back into the room. The kid hit the floor hard, and he looked up, eyes wide with fear. Daryl walked in, and slammed the door behind him. He brought his foot down on the kid's chest, and the kid howled in pain. Glancing around the room, Daryl saw Lori in the corner, bleeding slightly, but eyes wide, alert, and damn grateful to see him. He nodded at her once, before he pulled up the kid by the shirt, and slammed him into the wall. "Hey fuckhead." Daryl snarled, and the kid quaked under his fists. "Ya got anymore friends in here?"

"W-what?"

Pulling the kid back, Daryl slammed him back into the wall, harder this time. "I said, ya got any more of yer fuckin' monsters hiding in here?!"

"Depends," the kid panted. "Your fucking girlfriend one of mine yet?"

With a snarl, Daryl pulled the kid from the wall, and threw him straight into the ground, and followed him down, sending his fist into the kid's teeth. "I'm going to kill you." He snarled through clenched teeth. "But first, I'm going to fucking break you." He lifted the kid's head into the air, and slammed it into the floor. The kid cried out, and brought his hands up to cradle his head, before Daryl stood up, kicked him, and turned towards Lori.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and they filled up with tears as he got closer. "'S gonna hurt." He warned her, getting a grip on the tape plastered to her mouth. She nodded, and Daryl ripped it off as fast as he could. Lori cried, but she stopped herself and looked up at him.

"Thank you."

Daryl only shrugged, and started working on the duct tape that bound her hands. Once she was free, she slumped a little bit, and beamed up at him. "Thank you, so much."

"Jus' go." He ordered, turning back towards Jackson.

"Cali…is she…is Cali…"

Daryl flinched again, and walked towards Jackson. "Don't know. Get." Lori paused, but then she ran for the door. Daryl knelt down and pulled Jackson up by his shirt, and had him up against the wall again. He was trembling under Daryl's hand, and the hunter was almost disappointed. He wanted to the fucker to fight him back, to deserve this.

Then he remembered the screaming that came from Nia's room, and he pressed his arm against the fucker's throat.

"Let's get on fuckin' thing straight, right fucking now." Daryl snarled. "She ain't yers, she ain't never gonna be yers, and if she dies from this fucking thing, she still ain't yers. She's mine, understand?" Behind him, Daryl heard the cocking of a gun, and he let out a sigh. "Get the fuck out, Avery."

"How the fuck-"

"Get out girl. Now."

"No." Her voice was hard. "We had a deal. You aren't going to kill my brother."

"I told ya, I don't answer to ya. Now get."

"Don't make me shoot you."

Daryl looked over his shoulder, and snorted, while the kid under his arm gasped for air. "Ya might wanna turn th' fuckin' safety off if yer gonn' shoot me."

Avery froze, and started shuffling with the gun, then it went quiet, before something was slammed into his wounded shoulder. With a swear he recoiled, and brought his other arm in to protect his shoulder. The kid hit the floor, and took off running, right past his sister, who had already dived onto the ground, and held the gun back in her hands, eyes trained on him. "Let him go."

"Goddamn it girl, ya best let me go."

"No." Avery shook her head until she was standing, gun trained on Daryl. "You might've fucked shit up with your brother, but I'm not going to make that mistake. I'm not leaving my brother behind."

* * *

><p>Jackson ran, and he didn't think about where he was going, he just ran. He was in trouble…so so much trouble.<p>

Jackson ripped open the closest door to him, and ducked inside. He cowered against the nearest body of furniture, and inhaled the strong scent of dust and age. He cracked his eye open, and found himself face to face with hundreds of books.

Library, he was in the library.

Fuck. Blaine hid out in the library! Jackson jumped up to his feet, and slowly worked his way around the shelf, and gazed into the empty room. It didn't look like there was anyone else out there, but then again, the danger with Blaine was that she was able to disappear into her surroundings. He stalked slowly around the next shelf, and was face to face with an old man, sitting at a chessboard.

The man placed his piece back down. "Hello."

Jackson swallowed hard. "Hi."

The old man offered his hand towards the empty seat across form him. "Have a seat son, you look stressed." Jackson nodded and sat down across from him. "What's wrong."

"I uh…I I'm in trouble."

"What kind of trouble."

"The end up dead because of it kind." Jackson sighed and ran his hand through his hair. The old man just nodded, and moved his chess piece.

"So, why are you in trouble?"

"I don't know." Jackson admitted. "They don't understand, they truly don't."

"Well, explain it then." The old man gave a kind smile. "I want to understand."

"They think I'm a killer, that the Walkers are evil. But that's not true, it's never been true. The Walkers…they're amazing…they're the second coming." Jackson explained, his face reverent. The older man merely nodded his continuance. "They die, and then they come back. They have life again, it's…it's beautiful."

"Have you ever been bit by one?" The old man asked, and Jackson nodded excitedly.

"Yeah, all the time. I don't get sick like some of the other people do. I'm…well…Avery calls it immunity, but I think I'm just…you know…chosen."

"Chosen? To do what?"

"To bring more people to the end, to stop the suffering and evils of human life, and return to a purer state. To die and come back, a true revival of one's self. Every religion talks of it, rebirth, death to live again. And here it is, all around us, and what do people do? They run and they scream and they fear it. They just don't understand that it's the next step, like God, or Buddha or Allah all speak of. It's the next step." Jackson spoke quickly; excited by the fact that someone hand stopped to listen, someone was willing to hear what he had to say. That he had someone to listen to the mutterings of a madman.

"Well son, I can see your point." The old man admitted as he moved the chess piece once more. "However, your execution is a little extreme."

"It had to be extreme. Everyone here, they don't understand their blessing, they don't understand the truth and beauty they have been given."

"And nothing will change your mind?"

"Death couldn't even change my mind." Jackson replied, and he was so solemn, and so serious, that the old man had no choice but to agree. Jackson wouldn't stop making Walkers, and he wouldn't stop releasing them until he had 'delivered' every person on this ship.

The boy was dangerous.

The boy was sick.

There was nothing they could do for that boy.

The old man sat up straighter, and he pulled out a gun. Jackson froze in shock, and looked up at the man, who removed his hat, and gave him a genuinely sorrowful look. "I'm sorry son."

The old man pulled the trigger, and Jackson fell onto the chessboard. The pieces fell over, most became painted with the blood of the kid, blood that was a precious rarity, except for three black pawns, which stood proud, painted in the red violence of the day.

Dale placed his hat back on his head, and looked out the window. The sun was about to come up.

A new day.

* * *

><p>It had been quiet, but Avery and Daryl both had heard the gunshot. She only froze, and stared at him, before hauling ass out of the room, and Daryl wasted no time. He made his way down the stairs, mind flipping through every possibly outcome from that bullet, but each thought brought him back to one.<p>

Someone fucking shot Nia.

Daryl hit the deck hard, and ran past the open door of the dining room, where Rick and Dale stood together, Dale looking completely shattered, and with blood spattered on his clothes. Daryl froze, and walked inside. "Wha' happened?"

Rick looked up at the entering man, and nodded. "You got her out. Thank you Daryl."

"Told ya I would." Daryl shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise. "What happened t' ya Ol' Man?"

Dale sighed, and shook his head. "I got the boy."

"Whut?" Daryl was shocked. "Ya got him?"

"I tried to help him. I did but…" Dale trailed off and Daryl froze. Dale managed to save the little shit…that meant that the bullet…_God no._

"Whu' th' fuck he need help fer?!" Daryl snarled. "After wha' he's done!? After wha' he did to Nia!?"

"Calm down son." Dale held up his hands. "Besides, I think California will be just fine."

"Oh yeah? An' whut th' fuck give ya tha' idea?"

"Because," Dale said gesturing behind Daryl. "She's standing right there."

Daryl turned around, and sure enough, Nia was leaning against the wall. She looked thin, and she drowned in the sweatshirt she was wearing, and her skin was still pale, and her eyes looked tired and stressed, but she was standing there, arms crossed and smirking. She reached up with a bandaged hand to push her bangs out of her face.

"Seriously, I'm fine." Her smirk turned into a grin. "Don't be such a diva there, Dixon."

* * *

><p><strong>Thank Yous:<strong>

**Plastic Candy: You know me Candy, always a fan of the classics!**

**You are totally right, Daryl absolutely would have killed Jackson. And Jackson did need to die, seriously, he was too dangerous, and too unstable to help. **

**Show wise, I remember Rick saying something about scratches, but I went and checked it out and there hasn't been a person on the show who died from a scratch, so I ruled it out. And yeah, I wanted to know how it spread too, but I figured the easiest way to get around the body had to do with blood, so boom, the Parish Theory. **

**Next chapter, Avery's getting her dose of reality!**

**Klekje: I love to make my readers work for it xD hahhah. **

**Hahaha! Blaine's comment to Daryl was a shout out to all my BDS readers :DD I'm glad you like her, it's fun getting to play with her again, she was on the shelf for so long. **

**I had to agree with what you said about it being wrong for Daryl to kill Jackson, even if Cali lived, so I took that into account! Thanks for the help!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**IndigoFades: YES! I'm so glad someone caught the Brand New references! I absolutely LOVE them!**

**CheshireGrinn: HAhahaha kill the fucker xD Loved it. **

**I saved her! You're welcome :DD**

**YEAH ZOMBIES!**

**Viktorskrumpet: Vicky! You're back! **

**I didn't take her out of the game, but I don't think the cure is done working it's magic, just yet ;)**

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**LaciL: Hmmm not sure about Cali being immune now, but I'll think about it! And yes dear, you are the reason that Daryl got to beat the shit out of Jackson! Thanks for that!**

**Fluffy!: It's okay dear, you reviewed now! :DD you know I love your reviews.**

**She's alive! Are we good? :D**

**KamuiLumior: Why thank you thank you!**

**I seriously considered having Avery kill her brother, but when it came down to it, I just don't think she could do it. It's her big brother you know, and she loves him. No matter what. **

**She lived! Yay! :D**

**Nena-Daconte: YES I love your club! I'll bring the cookies! Lol**

**Thanks for the review love!**

**Nelle07: It's okay, I understood. I didn't take her from you :D**

**Triple LLL: Hey! You're back! Congrats on the Baby and the House!**

**Awh thanks so much love!**

**TheBananaMonster: Ask and you shall receive! I hope you liked it!**

**Well what do you say? :D Review for old Auntie Eris?**


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